


Playing The Monster

by CarlisleEnlow



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Character Death, Consensual Underage Sex, F/F, F/M, Forbidden Love, Incest, Insanity, Love, M/M, Multi, Other, Prostitution, Rape, Underage Sex, all may not apply, have not concluded the outcomes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2019-11-15 21:08:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 21
Words: 42,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18080915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarlisleEnlow/pseuds/CarlisleEnlow
Summary: She thinks about living in the districts, of being reaped for the games. In another room, in another building, in the same city Finnick crawls into the bed of his first suitor, thinking about the loss of his innocence.Inspired by Snow Princess by DreamTillDawn





	1. Loss of Innocence

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Snow Princess](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4380764) by [DreamTillDawn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamTillDawn/pseuds/DreamTillDawn). 



She makes her first kill at five. She doesn't know what she's doing - not really. She had just had her fifth birthday last week, the day before the games had started, and her grandfather had been so busy he hadn't the time to make for her.

He came to her today, interrupted her reading lesson to pull her aside to a long dark room where the large screens cover one wall and bask the glorified hallway in the little bit of light they provide. She's never been here before. It's cold.

People run through the screens yelling to each other, at each other. Grandfather calls them tributes. Monsters chasing them. Grandfather calls them mutts, made for the audience's entertainment.

They look small on the screen but so do all the people running around so she knows that they must be much larger in person. They look like walking fish with scales and sharp edges. She knows they must be rather pretty in the sun when its rays beat down, enhancing them. Enhancing is a new word that she learned this morning, her reading instructor tells her it's when the inner beauty of something is shown more clearly, a silver spoon after being polished, a star when all the lights go out at night, a rose when it's been dusted in mist.

The mutt jumps through the air landing heavy on a tribute, cutting his neck open and nearly taking his head off when he moves away. She watches on with awed focus nearly as strong as the mutt's teeth. Her grandfather too watches on, she can feel his prideful gaze upon her, clearly pleased as he pats down her unruly hair.

She saves her first life at five. She doesn't know what she's doing - still. Her grandfather shows her all the remaining people, tributes she remembers. Twelve of them to be exact, seven boys and five girls. He tells her she can pick her very favorite one.

There's a boy who grabs her attention immediately, his hair is as black as hers and he has grey eyes. She has grey eyes. She's never seen anyone else with grey eyes and for a moment it scares her. No one in the capitol has grey eyes, she knows this. The few people grandfather have allowed to meet her have told her so. This boy, with the black hair and the grey eyes like hers, is who she is going to choose.

Katniss watches him. He's clumsy and he's eating a dead fish that she doesn't think he's cooked. It's only after a few more moments when the shock of black and grey passes that she sees the other boy, younger but bigger. He's pretty. Her reading instructor would tell her that pretty isn't a word that she should use to describe a boy, and always trying to appease her she would then call him dazzling or striking, but in her mind she knows that pretty is the most fitting.

His hair is the color of rust, his eyes are the color of Caesars hair this year, bright and green. His skin has been enhanced by the sun. He's beautiful and deadly. She watches him make a trap out of a net and then cover it over with leaves and brush, when another tribute finds herself in it he hurls a knife into her chest. It's awkward.

Her history instructor who teaches her of the dark days that have long passed once showed her a video of a man who threw weapons in a similar fashion, not knifes but large spears that he called tridents. She prefers her history instructor to her reading one. The old man allows her to ask the questions she wants to ask and learn the things she wants to learn. He also shows her old fairy tell books that hold her mind hostage for days.

The boy deserves a better weapon with a smile so pretty.

"Him." She points her grandfather's attention to the boy who has just finished retrieving his knife from the body of the dead girl.

Her grandfather is disappointed she can tell. "He is your favorite of the year.. None of the more unique ones have caught your eye?"

The colors grey and black pass through her mind so quickly she almost doubts herself. No, she frowns. She wonders, does her grandfather not see him as she does? He looks like a prince to her, one of the ones from her fairy tells. She shakes her head at her grandfather, "He needs a trident, then he will be a victor." a prince.

She knows she's caught his attention, his eyes widen and he turns to the screen. She vaguely wanders if he noticed her new word, trident. "I believe you're right, what a wonderful idea."

She returns to her lessons then. Hours later when she's finished with her schooling she'll creep back to the hallway room with the screens and watch as the boy from four receives her gift.

He kills with a vengeance, taking out everyone who gets in his way as well as the ones who don't. The boy from eleven, the boy from ten, both from eight, the girls from five and three all four from one and two. She knows he killed the girl from eleven in the net and the girl from twelve in the bloodbath. Soon only two are left, he and the boy from twelve who looks like her.

Twelve sidesteps a trap hidden on the ground and raises a bow she can tell he's never used before. His movements are unfamiliar and sloppy but he's so quite that the prince from four hasn't noticed him only a few feet away. She knows he will win, he's so close that even without proper use of the bow there's no way he could miss. She can't breathe.

She saw her grandfather touching the screens before, making it rain, pulling up pictures of the tributes, dropping some food down to a small group of them. Her hand reaches out and nudged at the trap covered up on the ground. Pushing and pulling it under the boy from twelve as fast as her shaking hands will allow.

She's not sure if she's allowed to be doing this or not and doesn't want her grandfather to find out and scold her. She understands that what she's doing will kill the boy from twelve. After meeting her grandfather earlier she had run back to her lessons and asked her history instructor, Ramon, what it all had meant.

The trap releases around the boy, not killing him but leaving him trapped with a metal shard protruding from his stomach. The boy from four spins and hurls the trident through his heart. A cannon sounds. She knows that it's because of her actions that a boy with black hair and dead grey eyes will have a family cry for him tonight. Much better than a knife, she thinks.

Grandfather asks if she would like to meet her new victor.

It catches her off guard. Thinking back she can only remembers ever meeting a handful of people, less than thirty. Five instructors, her avox Dolly, Caesar, her grandfather, and a handful of people that she was introduced to in passing by her grandfather. She's thrilled.

The dress she gets put in is grey and short, it poofs out at her waist and only covers one of her shoulders. The stylist had told her it was from the dark days as he'd tied the ribbons up her legs, connected to her shoes. Her hair had been forced into pig tails high on her head, her bangs still covering most of her face.

The tributes have always been introduced by Caesar and she knows that this is as much her introduction to the world as it is his.

"The two of you will dance and then you will be free to roam." Her grandfather walks with her through the halls to a set of large doors that lead to the ball room, she comes here every week for dance lessons but never for the lavish parties.

She's greeted by dozens of unfamiliar faces. Hushed whispers fill the room and occasionally a bright light will blind her. The center of the room has been left open for her dance, but the people lining the walls and food tables still feel suffocating. She's left alone when her grandfather disappears into the crowd leaving her hand and her behind. She smiles, though the crowd probably can't tell.

He walks through the crowd, more beautiful than she remembers, smiling. His smile is fake. The same smile as all the men grandfather introduced to her, the same smile her instructors wear when they have had enough with her but don't want to cause any unnecessary problems for themselves. When he offers his hand she takes it anyway.

He bows and calls her princess, compliments her lovely castle, he doesn't know she saved his life just days ago. Katniss doesn't like being mocked.

The dance they share is awkward, she's too small and he's too large, her hand doesn't reach his shoulder which leaves her fumbling to hold both his hands, and his steps are too big. The whispers grow louder. The capitol citizens find this adorable. The whispers call her a delicate princess while they call him the fierce victor. His hands are gripping hers so hard it hurts.

She's had enough. When he takes his next step she doesn't follow, forcing him to come to a stop as the slow music moves on.

"Stay still." She feels powerful when Finnick doesn't argue or fight her.

Her hands get a hold of his arms and she pulls herself up until she can stand on the top of his shoes. Finnick takes her hands again, and though his shake, he's much gentler this time. He's scared. He would never have allowed this if he thought she would notice, after all she's still a child. This time when they move it's much slower, his steps aren't too large so that her feet fall off his and he puts her hand on his arm instead of his shoulder. When the dance ends he pecks her cheek. Thanks her and goes.

When Katniss goes to bed that night with her new pet, a mutt generously gifted to her from her grandfather for her grand performance, she thinks about living in the districts, of being reaped for the games. In another room, in another building, in the same city Finnick crawls into the bed of his first suitor, thinking about the loss of his innocence.

She dreams of a better home, and so does he.


	2. Milk With Honey And Spice

Tomorrow is the first day of the 70th games. Tomorrow is Katniss's eleventh birthday.

She wanders through the halls with her mutts Slyth and Rave, two large panther like cats that trail her every move. She named them from a dark age's story her history teacher got for her. One covered in the scales of a snake the other in feathers, both are black and sleek and deadly.

She designed Rave herself adding thick black feathers and making his front legs out of wings but Slyth will always hold her heart. Deadly Slyth. Given to her by her grandfather at the tender age of five. Katniss hadn't known at the time that he was more than a gift for her lovely performance in the ball room, charming the capitol citizens, but more of a guard to follow in her shadow and ensure her safety, she'd learned that years later.

She passes the hallway room. The room where she took her first life all those years ago and had never returned back to even when her grandfather had gifted it to her personally. She knows now that she could always just go to the game makers' room, request what she wants and leave but this room is for her discretion. It's a control room with monitors that show her what the rest of the world doesn't need to know.

In the past six years she's showed little to no attention to the games, not even to her own victor Finnick, grandfather calls him her pet. She catches herself thinking the same from time to time. He had done everything aside from forcing her participation to try and get her to engage throughout the years. She'd always smiled and told him that there were so many things she wanted to learn and study that she'd never be able to make time, not until she was older.

He's allowed her to get two more instructors. A male and female from district one who teach her all about survival.

Everything was going well until a few days ago when she was passing through the hallways connected to her grandfather's study and had stopped to watch the screen playing the tribute interviews. They had just finished and the camera had followed the tributes to behind the stage for a final peak. Off to the side she saw a beautiful girl with long red hair rush over to Finnick, hugging him tightly. The girl was over all sub-par but the look in Finnicks eyes spoke volumes, care.

She'd made her decision. Walked in the study and brashly told her grandfather that she liked the girl from four.

So she shifts the screens around the vacant arena looking for any way to ensure another victory for four. She'd watched all of Annie's interviews and even her reaping when she had cried silently with a distraught Finnick standing behind her. Sweet Annie would never stand a chance without her. She thinks back to the talk with her grandfather and how he hadn't questioned her taste what-so-ever, so thrilled to have her actively showing interest that he wouldn't have minded her choosing a wet slug as the next victor. She chose her for Finnick.

She chooses a new stylist, his name is Cinna. He has eyes that know too much but the smile he gives her is never fake. She loves his clothes, even when she only wears them in her rooms hiding from the cameras and the whispers she's ran from for the past six years.

The games are going well, Annie and her district partner haven't come across a single tribute in the three days since the bloodbath. She's at ease until she's eating supper late one night, lamb stew, and hears an alarm going off. She'd set the alarm to alert her if any of the other tributes got too close to Annie. She was careless, she should have been paying more attention, and she knows that now.

The screen plays on as the career pact, two boys and one girl remaining, cut the head off Annie's partner. You can barely hear a cannon over her screams.

Later when she can't sleep she will sends her avox Gale to bring her spiced honeyed milk.

When everything went wrong fight or flight had kicked in and thankfully Annie had run, Katniss doesn't think she'd have been able to save her if she'd stayed. She wasn't a victor, would never really be one but she'd given Katniss time and that's all she could ask for.

She lets three more days go by, wants to wait longer but Annie is walking circles with no food or water and even when she sends down fish her feet trip over the metal parcel and she walks on.

Katniss floods the arena, she doesn't know what else to do, only district four can swim and after three hours of Annie floating to the sound of cannons she's declared victor. The capitol is disappointed, they wanted blood.

Seven cannons, one boy with black hair and grey eyes.

She goes to see her, makes it all the way to the ball room that hosts the annual victor party and even gazes through the one way glass. Annie is being comforted by a tired looking mags and an anxious Finnick, her eyes are shot and it looks like she's screaming in her head. She's gone mad.

In the end she spends her night throwing knifes with Gale and drinking milk with honey and spice.

Gale is her avox who never ended up avoxed. She saw him being dragged through the foyer when she was six and had rushed over. The guards had tried to hold her off telling her that Gale, age ten at the time, was extremely dangerous and had killed three peace keepers after escaping his district. She didn't need to be told that he was from twelve. She had grabbed his face then. "We have the same eyes, you'd never hurt me."

Grandfather was furious and had all the guards executed by firing squad. Grandfather didn't like anyone seeing her eyes and those that had often ended up vanishing without a trace. Hours later he had refuted his execution of Gale and ordered him to be made Katniss's avox. Katniss had still been acting strange after the games the prior year and an avox closer to her age might do her some good, he'd thought, she hadn't ever been allowed friends.

Katniss saw to it that Gale never made it to the operation room. In his place she sent a boy with brown hair and blue eyes that she didn't get the name of, she supposed no one ever would now. The only other people who know about Gale are Dolly, her other Avox who shares a room with him and Cinna who once walked in on Gale and her talking and never mentioned it.

It's unusual for an Avox to be sworn to one person but not unheard of, and Katniss has always been protective of the few luxuries she's allotted. Gale and Dolly both wear the standard grey uniform with black masks that cover the lower portion of their faces but Katniss also has them wear ties over their eyes, lace that is thin enough to see through and thick enough to hide behind. Red for Dolly and black for Gale. No one mistakes them for common avoxes this way.

They spar, hands only, he's always been stronger and she's more limber. They only ever fight in the castle training room, it belongs to her anyway and she only allows the tributes to use it a few days each year. Her district one trainers bring her new sparing partners every few weeks, bigger, faster, smarter partners, still only Gale has ever truly bested her. The guards were right, he is dangerous. The trainers train him too, it's another thing she's hidden from her grandfather.

They tire and though she hates that he won again, she allows him to carry her off to her rooms. Dolly takes her to the baths and cleans her hair. Dolly knows how to read and write and occasionally shows her beautiful penmanship to Katniss and Gale, stories of her home in district five and of the family taken from her. It's through this that Katniss has learned about Dolly. All other Avoxes are nameless, Gale and Dolly too when not behind closed doors. Gale tells them stories of his family too, when he talks of his mother his eyes wonder to Dolly. Katniss never had a mother, she imagines that in Dolly, the red haired girl only ten years older than herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was inspired by the story Snow Princess by DreamTillDawn on Archive of our own and Snow Princess by EveryDream on Fanfiction. Make sure you go and read it. It's Amazing, and will be very different then this story!
> 
> I Do not own The Hunger Games
> 
> This is my first time writing.  
> This story is meant to make you uncomfortable at times. Will also have good moments as well.
> 
> The chapters will start getting longer here soon as well, i'm thinking about twice as long perhaps.
> 
> Please keep in mind that this story is rated M and will have multiple deaths and dark themes as the chapters go on.


	3. twelve

The 71st games are held earlier this year, a week. After her stunt with Annie, that her grandfather thankfully overlooked, she has been pushed for more participation. She tries to placate him by creating the whole arena this year. Designing mutts with tails that are long and sharp like whips, can climb trees, and breathe under water. She makes the forest dense and even adds a volcano. He wants more.

She's busy with combat lessons and misses the reaping. Gale ends up winning the first match and she takes the second so they fight it out for the title of champion in a third that feels never ending. She wins. Her district one instructors want her to work on endurance anyway and make her carry weights on her back for fifteen minutes as she fights an obstacle course.

When the tributes are brought in she knows, Johanna. The small shivering girl. She's a fantastic actor and has everyone fooled. Her arms are too lean to not carry any power. Her grandfather gives her strange looks when she tells him. He thinks that she is choosing the weakest tributes on purpose, first mad Annie and now shivering Johanna. She tells him to trust her, Johanna is different. Fierce.

Johanna gets a score of four. Katniss forgets her interview the moment it finishes.

She had hoped Johanna would enter the bloodbath but the girl keeps up her act well. She sends her an axe on the second day, not a moment too soon, the boy and girl from ten run across her. The axe is small but she manages to cut off the girls arm at the elbow, leaving her screaming and bleeding out on the floor. The boy runs and she chases him down stabbing him in the back. It takes sixteen seconds for him to die. She returns to the girl and buries the axe in her chest as she begs for mercy. Five seconds for the cannon to sound and the girl to stop choking on her own blood. She strips them of food and water, takes their clothes and triples her layers seemingly un-bothered by the blood now covering her.

Everyone in the capitol is impressed with her mutts, when she erupts the volcano the mutts wait for the tributes to flee before chasing them up trees and through forest. The kills are slow and one tribute jumps back into the lava to avoid the mutt, his flesh melting from his bones.

She wants action though, needs it, sees the hunger left in the citizen's eyes from the year prior. She calls her mutts back, has them start corralling the tributes towards the cornucopia.

When it's down to Johanna and the girl from one she buries the axe so deep in the girls' head she can't pull it out. She'll have to be buried with it.

She's never seen her grandfather so proud.

She's never felt so proud. Johanna is her second true victor, her third named victor. She looks stupid during her interview with Caesar.. dressed as a tree.

The next night a victor's party is held, it's the first time she's appeared in public since her dance with Finnick seven years ago. Her grandfather had announced her co-head game maker this morning. Tomorrow she'll talk to Caesar about her advancement.

Cinna on her arm she's wearing his latest design, charcoal grey slip dress that frames her small body, thin straps barely hold it to her shoulders. It spills out at the waist to the ground, going from the dark unforgiving grey to completely see through at her feet. Barefoot. Smoke billows in her wake. Even her unruly hair has been tamed, straitened and falling behind her. She wears a black lace wrap to cover her eyes. Slyth follows behind her as does her avox. It's all very dramatic. Sleek. Deadly.

The room quiets as she enters, everyone turning to see what the others are looking at. None of them know her but that doesn't stop them from parting in her wake as she makes her way to the back where the victors will be huddled together until one of them is called out.

Slyth causes quite the stir within the room, regular citizens aren't permitted mutts and they aren't common enough to see outside the games.

She's left Cinna and Slyth behind on her journey. The victors look at her with confusion. A few even turn around and ignore her presence. For a moment she feels silly, of course she's never been shown publicly and though everyone knows of her existence they are no doubt expecting a blond blue eyed beauty like she's been told her mother and grandfather once were. She considers going back to retrieve Cinna, but then feels even sillier. Thankfully Finnick still seems to recognize her so she's not forced to introduce herself.

"Princess Snow?" He looks shocked, even sounds shocked, like he can't believe he even let the words leave his mouth. She's made him nervous, the others too by the way they spin back around, eyes wide. For a moment the infamous Haymitch looks sober.

"Johanna, shall we get drinks?" It's not a question.

She's never had alcohol so Katniss orders her a screw-driver. She's been drinking since six. "It's a Dark Age drink and it's quite crude but I believe you deserve it." Slyth comes to join her, wrapping his cold tail around her waist. Johanna's mouth hasn't fully shut since her introduction so she quirks an eyebrow. Surely not another Annie?

"Shit, I never expected the person trying to kill me would be the same fucking age." Her laugh is near manic, then when she realizes what she's said her eyes widen. "I mean it must have taken a ton of work to.."

"It's alright Johanna, though I'm actually five years younger," no one has ever thought her older before, it's the beautiful clothes. "today's actually my twelfth birthday. Your act was incredible, you know. You even had my grandfather fooled, though I'm sure he'd deny it."

"Thank you." Katniss knows she's not being sincere. That's okay, few are with her.

"Yes, well I've just come over to tell you that you were superb just as I knew you would be." She leans up and in to bring herself closer to Johanna's ear. Johanna must be able to tell she wants these words to be private because she actually leans down to meet her part way surprising but pleasing Katniss all the same. "Grandfather didn't agree but I told him you'd do it. I chose you myself after all, from the very beginning, no one else would do. I'm very partial to my tributes you know."

"You chose me. Your tributes…?" Katniss has spooked her, her eyes dart to the other victors in panic. They are 'looking busy' but all their eyes are shifted to watch them. Her.

"Well not all of them of course, you're my third. Don't worry, I have plenty of affection to split between you three so you needn't worry." She knows she's been staring at Finnick and Annie, knows that Johanna knows too. She wants to ask more questions, needs to, but finally she settles with a happy birthday Princess Snow and excuses herself to find a 'dance partner'.

Before she can think too much about it she grabs a drink listed as a snakebite and makes her way back to the tributes. She doesn't utter a word as she slips the drink around the arm of one Mr. Abernathy. When he turns to face her Slyth circles him, rubbing his scaled body against his back and reaching up to slap his shoulder with his thick tail. The tributes nearby shrink back from her veiled threat. Her olive branch. Katniss doesn't need to tell him, Haymitch already knows. He's very similar to her that way.

As Cinna escorts her and Slyth out of the grand hall she catches Johanna and Finnick sharing hushed whispers, eyes wide, staring. Citizen's bow to her no doubt having heard Finnicks original outburst or caught a hold of Cinna to badger him with questions. A few even bow to her mutt in acknowledgment.

Her avox follows on.

Caesar asks her how her involvement in the games is going. She tells him that this is the third games she has helped work on, that, like everyone of course, she's always been a huge fan of that games and when given the chance to participate she had 'jumped' at the opportunity.

"Tell me Princess, your twelfth birthday was yesterday and of course Happy Birthday right folks," The crowd rushes to agree, raining down on them with flowers. "What would you say to those that think you are too young to be helping produce the games?"

"Twelve? Old enough to play in the games but too young to 'produce' the games?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> let me know if you see any errors.


	4. Unsavory Business

Her district one instructors and Slyth accompany her to the outside. Outside the capitol, outside the districts, the dead world. She's been exploring the ancient world since she was eight. Everything long gone, barren, she'll come across the occasional plant. She wears protective gear when she comes here, if she doesn't the air will suffocate her.

They don't know much about the dead world but they know more than they did four years ago.

Grandfather has always been against her expeditions to the outside but after many failed attempts, begrudgingly allowed it. She can tell that he hides things about the dead world from her. She hides her findings from him as well.

She remembers her first time going outside, walking slowly and picking up samples with her bare hands. Hearing noise and knowing something was wrong, that she wasn't alone. No one had been guiding her at the time and she never spoke of the noise to anyone. The second time they had gone in a different direction, flew over the ruins of district 13, saw two guards that wore breastplates showing their alliance to the district thought to be destroyed. That was the day she learned of her grandfather's first secret. Her instructors pretending not to notice.

They run, Gold and her, as Diamond mans the ship above them never allowing the two women to get too far from sight. Never slowing down to get a second glimpse at anything. Out here in the open is the place she feels alive, feels true fear. Katniss has no way to explain it, it's not a rational fear, she doesn't fear dying out here, it's a fear of weightlessness, like she's breathing easy despite the thick air, she's fears her acceptance here.

Ramon has always known her love of the dark days, he can see the passion in her eyes when she reads the books, wears the clothes, tastes the food. He told her once.

Diamond brings the ship closer to the ground and flies alongside them. It's time to go. He doesn't slow or land, it's too dangerous out here, instead the girls pick up speed and hurl themselves into the open door. Slyth follows after.

Katniss has everything she came for. The 72nd games will replicate the architecture and smog that looms in the air.

This year Katniss has hand selected all the tributes, aside from district one and two that have their own volunteers. Her victor will be from three. Rahella is as beautiful as district one tributes. Her hair is the color of honey and wheat and she is tall and willowy. She has a soft voice and blushes too easy.

She manages to kill the girl from nine by letting her steal the food that she's poisoned. Everything is progressing well until the boys from one and two start causing problems. They kill their female partners, raping the girl from one. When they catch sight of Rahella they give chase. Katniss drops fire on them letting Rahella put distance between them.

Just as she's making progress and things are starting to look up again is when everything goes to utter fucking shit. Johanna would be proud of her vulgar language.

She hides in one of the buildings that Katniss replicated from the dead world. In the night it falls on her, a metal rod rams through her hand into the ground. She's pinned for two days. The boys growing closer by the hour. Katniss rains fresh water on her.

When the career boys draw close enough that Rahella can hear their taunting screams she bites through her wrist. She manages to beat the boy from one over the head with a rock before running for the woods.

Her open wound gets infected, it's infected by the air. Katniss doesn't have a cure for dead world issues. In the end the tribute she chose will be killed by the arena she chose, due to her own carelessness. She sends her lamb stew, it's all she can do now. Ease her suffering and promises the boy from two a hard life after the games. Rahella goes on.

She finds a sharp rock and cuts away at the infection rotting her arm. Tears fall as she scrapes away both the infection and her flesh, she's silent still. It's taken the flesh all the way to her elbow. Leaving the bone underneath sharp. The final fight is hard to watch. The boy from two is on top of her and tearing at her clothes, Rahella impales him through the face with her sharpened arm. She can't remove her arm from his head and when the ship drops down peacekeepers and healers, they have to cut the boys head off to get her into the ship.

She managed to cut the infection out of her body and the healers decide to leave her ulna out on show, sharpened and raw. They get Katniss's permission first of course.

Katniss summons Beetee to her chambers the night the games finish. "She needs a new arm, make her one, make it gold to match her hair." The arm fits over her bone and covers her elbow, fully functioning.

Beetee says it will take a while before she can properly function the hand. "Give her metal cups." She reminds him that this is his own idea and she has nothing to do with it.

"You enjoy playing the monster don't you?" She has no response.

His name is Mr. Ridmen and he's well known around the capitol. He backs her grandfather and she's met him a half a dozen times over the years. When her participation in creating the games was announced he flooded her with money to show his support. He's dangerous and she once heard a rumor revolving around him that she wishes she could forget, but she needs him.

The first time she'd met the man he hadn't been allied with her grandfather, in fact he had just walked out of a business meeting with the president when he'd come across her. She was six and hadn't gotten Gale yet. He saw her eyes.

"Let's never lie to each other Princess." Were the first words he'd ever spoken to her. She'd agreed. He'd returned to his meeting then and allied with Snow, with her. When she's older she learns that her grandfather had tried to have him killed but didn't succeed, twice.

He gives Beetee access to a remote workshop of his to craft the perfect arm for Katniss's newest victor. Offers up all the tech that the man would ever need.

She watches Rahella every day through her recovery process. She's been given the nickname Bones by the capitol citizens and they all wear glass bone necklaces and hair accessories in support of her. Rahella doesn't know this yet of course, still in the deep sleep she was placed in two weeks ago by the healers.

It's rare the healing process takes this long for a victor. Katniss remembers Johanna up and about the day after her games. Finnick less than a week.

She thinks about Johanna and Annie, both back in the hospital after suffering panic attacks. Annie when the peacekeepers decapitated the head from the dead body, and Johanna when watching Rahella stab her arm through the boys head. Katniss thinks it's more that she couldn't get her arm free rather than the actual stabbing itself.

Finnick and Mags visit Annie, Katniss makes herself scarce when Dolly alerts her to their approach. She doesn't care that Blight sees her on his visit to Johanna late one night. Blight is a quiet man, she doesn't need to tell him to keep this to himself he will anyway. He bows before disappearing into her room three doors down.

She'll never give up on Rahella again. The new arm is beautiful.

When Caesar introduces the new tribute 'bones' to the world the response is crazed. She's only ever seen such passion from Finnicks adoring fans. Finnick talks to her in the corner of the ball room that night, Katniss watches on through the one way glass, whatever he tells her has her pale. District one Cashmere and Gloss approach her, apologizes for their male tribute, thanks her for avenging their female one. She decides she likes the beautiful twins.

Katniss watches a capitol man with pink hair run his hand on her lower back. She sees red.

Before she can reach them Mr. Ridmen appears and removes the man's hand from Rahellas backside. The pink man turns to put up a fight but quickly shuts his mouth and shrinks off. Mr. Ridmen doesn't stay to hear whatever Rahella tries to tell him.

He comes to her, tells her that Rahella's mother committed suicide watching her pinned under the building, and that she is orphaned at seventeen. They dance. People take notice, after all they are two of the most powerful people in the world.

"What did you come here to say Mr. Ridmen? We both know you could care less about the victors."

"You've met an orange fellow named Pelenos, rather nasty if I say so myself." Of course she's met him, orange hair, orange skin, orange eyes. Pelenos has been allied with her and her grandfather since she could remember, he was one of the first people she had ever been allowed to meet. He somehow is always managing to get his hands on priceless artifacts from the dead days, gifts them to her often. He even gifted her Johanna's game axe a few months ago, though he never found Finnicks trident. She doesn't think too much of it, many citizens send her lovely gifts.

"He's dealing is some unsavory business, princess." Where is this going?

"The same type of unsavory business you often find yourself entangled in, Mr Ridmen?" It's no secret to her that both men in question have agendas all their own, though what exactly no one has ever been able to properly determine.

"No Princess, I have no interest in such disgusting acts."

She convinces her grandfather to let Rahella stay in the capitol. Stay in the castle with her. No one can touch her within the walls of her fortress. Her rooms are down the hall from Katniss's but she sees to it they don't meet each other in anything other than passing.

She's in the middle of designing the 73rd games when she hears it in passing. Two middle age woman gossiping about the capitol darling. She's used to this. Finnick Odair, the most beautiful man alive, the most charming, the strongest, intelligent, and the list goes on. This is as common as breathing, it's the next line that she's never heard that catches her off guard. "He's worth every penny."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors  
> The work was inspired by dreamtilldawn Snow princess  
> Rated M for a reason, read at your own risk. I'll be adding more tags when I think of them.


	5. Nine Spoons Of Honey

It's been a month since the 72nd games and her thirteenth birthday. It's been a week since her dance with Mr. Ridmen. A day Since "He's worth every penny." was uttered in regards to Finnick Odair.

It kept her up last night.

She's spent the last three hours staring at the screens hidden around Finnicks room. Why does he have his own residence in the capitol? The whole top floor to himself in the luxury tower Advantage. Owned by none other than one Mr. Ridmen.

The 105th floor. If she looks out her palace windows she can see the looming building in the distance, surrounded by other towers not quite as tall or grand. The twins Cashmere and Gloss share the 102nd floor. She's never thought of it but the three of them are the only victors that stay in the capitol year round. Never returning to their home districts. The only victors that stay outside of the victory building.

Four hours, he's still not home. It's 2am.

3am by the time she finds herself knocking on his door.

Gale and Dolly's room is directly connected to Katniss's, she's going to have to get better at sneaking out without alerting them. After, she was faced with the dilemma of crossing the city, she'd gone to Cinna. His apartment was only a few buildings away, if the bellhop had recognized her he didn't let on, simply slipped her the pass-code to the third floor.

Cars are a luxury but there are a few kept not far off for official government use and Cinna has a lock for one. She doesn't ask how or why.

Three knocks, twenty seconds for him to make it to the door. She didn't wake him, doesn't even think she surprised him. "Princess Snow. Perhaps you should consider your attire running around at this time of night in the city." Katniss couldn't care less about the thin white nightgown she'd slipped away in, she has real issues to discus.

"Mr. Ridmen. Can I have a word?"

They share sweets as tea brews off to the side, silently passing colorful macaroons back and forth. Katniss is about to prompt him into conversation when he holds his hand up in a silencing motion. It prickles her. when the tea finishes he fills her cup without being asked and adds nine spoons of honey. It prickles her more that he knows how she takes her tea. She has other things to discuss.

She's about to try and start a conversation again when he stands and turns away from her. She could strangle him.

The monitor on the wall lights up when he taps it. It looks nicer than the one she uses for the games. Floor 105 illuminates the screen, Finnick is still not home, what catches her attention though is the envelope on the bed, a white rose laid over the top, that wasn't there before. Mr. Ridmen returns to his vacant seat.

"Mr. Rid.."

*click*

Finnick comes through the front door, he looks like a mess, hair pointing in all directions, purple under his eyes, his sweater isn't closed and underneath she can see his chest and neck covered in bruises. Neither of his dress shoes are tied. He kicks the door shut and goes to shower.

Mr. Ridmen tops off her tea and adds another honeyed spoon.

"Where has he been all night?"

"With his highest paying customer." Why would he possibly do that, he has victor money, he has more money then he could possibly spend in ten lifetimes. Ridmen knows that. "Dear, would I ever lie to you?" No he wouldn't, she doesn't like him but he's never lied to her. "Mr. Odair doesn't keep the money, he doesn't even see the money.. It's for The President after all." This is the day she learns of her grandfathers second secret.

Katniss had always thought Finnicks womanizing was an escape of sorts, Haymitch and cliff have alcohol, Enobaria runs twice a day, practically everyone from six have become addicted to morphine. Why wouldn't he want to spend his nights with woman?

Finnick's wraps himself in a towel after his shower, when he sees the envelope on the bed he cries.

Katniss doesn't drink any more tea.

Cinna gets her back to the castle by 5:30, people are shuffling around but she manages to slip by those she comes across in the hallways with little notice. Dolly stares at her hard when she enters her chambers. Disapprovingly. Gale won't be up for hours.

The fit she throws in her grandfathers study later that day is a sight to behold.

"How can I possibly focus on the games when he's not behaving!" Whenever Katniss tells her grandfather about her tributes she refers to them as pets, she knows that is what he thinks they are to her. "I chose Annie for him, they were supposed to be perfect together. A matching set! Why does he spend all of his time with other girls!" She's still just young enough that she can get away with the occasional outburst.

She now knows that Finnick stays in the capitol because he isn't allowed to leave. Cashmere and Gloss too, most likely. Katniss will worry about them later, right now this is what she can do.

"I'll look into it."

Katniss watches Finnicks room at night, it's a huge loft with a nook for a kitchen and one door that leads off into a bathroom. The bed is surrounded by floor to ceiling glass windows on two sides. It's very modern in an old way.

For two weeks Finnick still gets a rose and a note every night, on the third week he gets two. No more roses follow. Finnick still isn't allowed to leave the capitol. Compromises.

She goes back to making the 73rd games. Crane steps down, half-way through the development of the mutts. "You've more then got this covered Princess."

When the day ends and she's finished schooling, training, and preparing she'll look more into who's responsible for the envelopes with the roses. Aside from the district one twins she notices envelopes sent to six other victors from one, two from district two and four, and one from five, eight, and nine. Blight from seven receives some.

Dolly brings her spiced milk every night and sits with her as she investigates, neither mention anything to Gale.

Gold and Diamond follow her to the dark lands. This time Katniss runs alone with Slyth while Gold stays in the ship with Diamond. They've gone out to the wastelands she experienced at eight.

"Gold, Diamond. Did you two ever meet the twins?"

"Of course we did, we trained them." Diamonds voice is rough. They had both been trainers in one before she chose them to come to the capitol and teach her, but she didn't think they had been old enough to train the twins. School mates perhaps.

"Do you think I could take them in a fight?" Katniss laughs, this is the first time she's been so happy in a long while. Too long.

"No." Both voices come through her head piece.

"You may be able to take on one of them if you got them alone but together? not a chance." Gold.

"Gale and I against the twins?"

"No." Two voices, her pride's actually wounded, she thought she was doing well in training. The twins are twenty two - the same age as Finnick. They won the 67th and 68th games. Gale and her may be younger but the twins are out of practice. Somehow she agrees with Gold, they don't stand a chance.

Katniss is enjoying this, truly enjoying this, but she still needs to wrap up quickly. A party is being thrown next week in the ball room at the palace and though she never shows much interest in social gathering she wants to speak with Finnick. Katniss is still troubled by her lack of progress regarding the tributes nightly activities.

Katniss hears it, the noise. She keeps running, asks Gold to check ahead and see if there are any buildings coming up.

She never hears the response, she's on the ground with her head bouncing off of something hard. Pain blossoms through her chest. Gold's screaming, no she's the one screaming.

"SLYTH! SLYTH! GOLD!" The weight is thrown off but quickly replaced by another just as heavy.

"Katniss.." A rough male voice is yelling in her ear. Diamond, thank god.

When she closes her eyes katniss dreams of a boy with black hair and dead grey eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors  
> This story is inspired by DreamTillDawn Snow Princess  
> Finniss longterm


	6. The Bunker

-Diamond-

He's covered in sweat, but he finally gets the Princesses heart beating again after five minutes of chest compression. Gold has taken over flying the ship. The time they make is good but he wishes it was better. "Cut through the front entrance, we're going to have to go through the front door."

"The party will be starting soon, we can't take her in the ball room!" No they still have time to beat the gathering if they hurry. Beat the President.

"Pick up speed!" If they have to go through the back and land the Princess will be between medical for nearly twenty minutes while they transport her to the bunker in the castle. Diamond just stopped the bleeding, they can't risk it.

The victors will have already arrived at the ballroom by the time they get back to the capitol but they will deal with that when they get there. The citizens can't know the state their Princess is in, more importantly the President can't know the state his granddaughter is in.

The ship plows through trees and buildings that lay between districts.

The damn beast is pacing back and forth letting out random shrieks to show its annoyance with everything happening. "Me too, dammit." He whispers to the beast.

"Coming in, get prepared!"

Diamond scoops up his Princess while Gold sets the ship to float mode, invisibility set miles back already.

They jump. He rolls to lesson the impact leaving a trail of Katniss's blood in the grass. The beast runs on, Gold riding its back.

-Gold-

She has to kick in the front door when her blood covered hands slide over the handle. All the eyes in the great hall turn on her, fucking victors. Only a few are here at the moment so they must have done well on time.

"Gold?" Cashmere.

"Cash, Gloss. Medic needs, stat!" They've always been good at taking orders, and they're both O- blood which is all the better.

Diamond makes it through the front with the princess in his arms.

"She's seizing, Gold!" Gloss is there jamming a needle into her arm, his arm held above her to ensure no air gets through. It's crude but no one cares.

He gets them out of the hall, following after his sister to the medic center no longer in use in the basement. The bunker. "No one, I mean no one, will speak a fucking word of this."

"Why aren't you calling in healers?" Haymitch. She never liked the fucker, always too fucking smart and too fucking careless.

"I don't have time for your shit right now. Back off if you know what's good for you."

"Yeah, and whats good for her? Did you ever think about that?" Why would he possibly care?

In the end she gets them all to agree to stay silent. Mags, and 'Bones' tagging along with a too sober Haymitch. Fucking lovely.

In the bunker Gloss and Cashmere are connected to devices that help "donate" their blood into the small princesses body. She's stopped seizing which is something but she's not being responsive.

"Are those stab wounds? Someone actually had the nubbs to attack the princess?" Haymitch is so nonchalant they might as well be talking about paint colors.

"It looks infected."

"It is infected." Diamond stops cleaning the rotting flesh.

"Well then, here's an idea... A.. Medic." He's laughing when she hits him, laying him out on the floor cold.

She excuses herself to get a bowl of water, 'bones' tags along. "Don't you have something to get rid of the infection? When I lost my arm the healers told me that if someone had gifted me some ointment earlier it could have been saved . No one could afford the ointment to send me..can't the princess afford some?"

"What are you talking about? Don't you know that the princess chose you as the victor before the games even started? I thought all the victors had figured that out."

Her face contorts "I thought she chose the boy from two.. she didn't help me.. my arm.."

"There was no cure for your infection, we didn't think you would live either way. The arena was a replica of the dark days wastelands, no cures for the wastelands."

"Then why can't you... oh my gosh, the infection? Can you cut it off?"

Gold wants to hit her too. "Cut off her chest? Fucking brilliant, why didn't I think of that myself?" She takes the iced water and a rag on the way out.

When she makes it back to the bunker Slyth has settled on Gloss's lap and Haymitch gives her a dirty look. Mags watches Diamond clean the wounds covering the princesses chest, occasionally she points to spots he misses.

"You're risking the life of the princess to keep this hidden? What are you hiding." Haymitch...

"Shut up."

A confused Finnick wonders in with Johanna. Apparently the victors upstairs couldn't keep their damn mouths closed after all.

"kat..nnnsss... kanss.. Ka-kat" All eyes turn to the child on the table.

"She's saying Katniss, she's been saying her own name off and on whenever she's conscious. She did it on the air craft ship too." He tells them.

"Why haven't you got her a healer?"

"Thank you Johanna, for saying the same thing I have for the past hour. Finally someone with some common sense." He's laughing and Gold is moving to hit him again when the girl 'bones' bursts into tears. Mags is sticking a thick needle into Finnicks arm, apparently also gifted with O- blood. She's somehow gotten the iced water from Gold without her noticing and has placed the cloth on the princesses head.

"Fuck, Fine. You wanna know why we didn't call a fucking medic Haymitch!?" Diamond cuts in "Silence!"

Diamonds booming voice does more than silence her, it halts all the chaos happening around them. "These people are not our friends Gold, they don't hold any good will towards the princess. These secrets are our burden."

"Who the fuck do you think you are? We aren't your friends? OOOH, like I give a shit. Your OH SO GREAT princess is the one who chose me! Chose Finnick and Rahella, so at the end of the day we all owe her weather we like it or not, and these two?" she waves a dismissive hand towards Cash and Gloss. "Yeah, You told them to come down here! Mags and Haymitch are DOWN HERE, not running and telling Snow that you're off killing his perfect fucking little granddaughter. So? Yeah, I do think you owe it to us to say whatever the fuck it is that's going on!"

She's heard enough, she's in pain too. Diamond nods at her. "We can't save her." Haymitch, who looks much more sober than she's ever seen him, goes to open his mouth but she silences him with a hand. "Healers can't help, the wounds are infected. There's no cure."

"What do you mean no cure? The capitol holds a cure for every known illness, infection, and wound." Finnicks voice sounds small, he looks tired, upset.

"The capitol has a cure for every known infection in the new world," She sighs, if she doesn't get some of the pressure out of her chest she''ll cry. "we weren't in the new world. We went out to the world of the Dark days against the presidents orders."

"You can do that?" Johanna seems to be the only one that can talk and she doesn't even seem to know she has. All eyes are wide, moving between her and the little princess, when the conviction settles in they harden with understanding. They can't cut off the rotting flesh. They have no cure. The princess is dying.

"We are occasionally granted access to the world of the Dark Days but that's mostly only for getting game inspiration, the Princess has been pushing her luck going out more often recently."

"Wait, if you were in the old world how did she get hurt?" He's too smart. "She was attacked."

"By what?"

"Not what, Who. Just like you said, something had the nubbs to attack her. Those are stab wounds, three to the chest, just missing the heart."

Gold wrings out the cloth cleaning and re-wetting it before placing it on the head of her princess. No one talks again for a long time.

Throughout the night Rahella falls into a fitful sleep in the corner, cuddling a dead eyed Johanna. Cashmere and Gloss curl into one another and surprisingly Slyth joins them. Haymitch drinks long and hard. Diamond gathers supplies. Finnick sleeps on, arm raised to drape on a shelf allowing his blood to flow slowly but freely. She briefly thinks he's passed out from blood loss and that she should remove the needle, but when Princess Katniss cries he wakes up to watch her. He's not her responsibility, she doesn't really care if he passes out. Mags drapes new rags over the princesses head every few minutes, rubs her hands and cheeks, never asks to be relieved or to rest. Gold watches on, gun strapped to her leg, ready to defend against anyone who dare enter uninvited.

The next day goes much the same, they only leave to gather supplies from the medic center two buildings away, food from the kitchen, or to make an appearance in the city. Diamond brings bags of blood and water to hook to Princess Katniss, she can tell Finnick and the twins are excited by the prospect, he hides the ship. Rahella gets food for everyone, she is after all the only one expected to be in the castle at the time. Mags rests. She takes Cashmere to the training room to gather weapons. Haymitch, Johanna, and gloss never leave. Haymitch has looked surprisingly lost since the revelation that the princess might not make it. At one point Finnick leaves for a few hours, when he comes back he smells life perfume.

As they eat supper Gloss asks them what they are doing in the capitol. "We've been made permanent residents in the castle as the princesses instructors." It appeases the twins but raises flags for everyone else. Johanna has never been good at keeping her mouth closed.

"Wait, you're not capitol citizens?"

"Do we look like capitol citizens?" They look district one through and through.

"When was the last time the princess ate?" Why hadn't she thought of that? She looks at Diamond, Why hadn't he thought of that? They can get some food attachments in the morning when the capitol is starting to wake but what about now? They discuss dropping bits of food into her mouth but scratch the idea when Haymitch says they'll end up suffocating her. She'll have to wait till morning.

The princess cries, Johanna shocks them all by being the first to go console her. "I think she has a fever." Fuck.

As the night goes on they take turns sleeping, all but Mags who refuses to leave the princesses side. They've chosen to sweat out the fever by placing all the blankets in the room on her. They make sure her head stays cold, they don't want to boil her brain.

Diamond makes them sleep first because they've both gone multiple days without. She tries to argue, who will protect them if an intruder comes in, but then realization hits her... everyone else in the room is a victor. They are the least qualified of everyone here. It hurts, she's never felt so hopeless. As she lays down she thinks of all the victors and tributes she's trained, she thinks of everyone in the room with her, taking turns to sleep to keep watch as the others sleep. This is her alliance. Had this been the games she knows she wouldn't be able to kill them when it came down to it. She could kill for them but she could never kill them, not even Haymitch's annoying ass.

Her Princess cries out her own name.

Had she been a tribute she never would have been a victor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors.  
> I'm also posting this on Fanfiction and it's farther along.  
> This chapter will start out following Diamond and then switch to Gold for the next few chapters


	7. Who Could They Tell

-Gold-

Morning comes and the fever never leaves When diamond goes for food he comes back empty handed. Apparently the medic center is doing its annual supplies count and everything has been moved for the day. No food, No water, No blood.

She wonders how a wound can be both rotting and bleeding at the same time, she's never heard of such a thing. Doubts it's good.

"I don't think she'll make it through the day... but I can't let her die either.." Diamond goes back to cleaning her chest. If we can clean as much of the infection out as possible then maybe the princess will pull through on her own and we can deal with the stab wounds, it's really the only option we have.

She hasn't moved in hours, hasn't called out in hours. This is the longest the princess has ever been unresponsive. She worries it's a coma.

In the night Gold had come across her blindfold and placed it over her eyes. She's seen the princesses eyes and knows the real reason the president made her hide them. She bets she's the only one who know the truth. Gold knows a lot of things she shouldn't, wrong place right time. She bares it, hides it from her district partner.

At one point Johanna makes a biting comment to her about 'the princesses face modesty' which results in the two of them cussing each other out. "If you don't like the way we do things here, then you are more then welcome to leave, Mason!"

"I'm just saying! MAYBE, you don't know what's best all the GOD-damn time! Why is everyone here listening to you anyway? Huh? DIAMOND why do you take orders from this bitch, she must be killing it in the sack, am I right? I'm right, aren't I? The pretty ones are always freaks." She even had the balls to wink at an uncomfortable looking Finnick. "What are you gaining from all of this? A FAT fucking bonus from President Rose? 'Dear Gold-en Girl, it is with my utmost gratitude that you've taken time too.."

"ENOUGH! I love her! I raised her! She might as well be MY child! If you think that the president has anything to do with the Princess you're more dimwitted then you look, she's lucky to see him once a month for public gatherings. You didn't think it was strange we managed to leave the capitol for two weeks? That we've been hidden down here for two days and NO ONE has come looking for her? He's never got her a nanny, hides her away in this prison, always putting pressure on her to do better, BE BETTER. Lessons every morning with Instructors that resent her, training every evening, 'make sure you finish the game plans soon'. AND then to top it all off she's got you ungrateful bitches to take care of!" The memory of walking by the presidents study and hearing her princesses tantrum passes through her mind, wrong place right time, staying and hearing the talk President snow had over the phone about one Finnick Odair. She's said too much again. She's screamed out. Tired. "She might as well have been raising herself in this place before we got here. You have no idea the pressure she's under. The pressure we're under."

That ends the remaining fight in both of them it seems. Everyone settling down looking more uncomfortable by the cramped space then before. Thinking about all she let loose. They want to ask her what she meant.. 'you ungrateful bitches to take care of' they don't. Johanna's silent for once. Haymitch watches her, he's too smart.

Of course Johanna can't stay quite long, an hour. "When I met her it was her twelfth birthday, it didn't matter how small she was I thought there was no way she could be so young. Her presence was suffocating. She was so confident, no actually she was mostly just intimidating, no one could approached her... Anyway she got me this drink and told me about how she handles the games each year.. She basically said even her grandfather doesn't interfere with her work. The only person in the world who could disobey the president without being shot down was talking to me.. now that power is the reason she's dying."

"She came into our first lesson with her avox and told us we were going to train him too, she needed a partner for practicing, and no one was allowed to tell her grandfather." The memory Diamond shares warms her heart.

"When she stopped our dance to climb on my shoes her shadow covered half the room. How could such a large shadow come from such a small girl."

These aren't normal stories about a child but she appreciates them all the same.

They are halfway into the day now. Gloss is hooked up to the princess looking worse for wear, soon he will have to ask his sister to take over. "We should get the avoxes."

"No."

"She keeps them with her for a reason, she would want them here. Who are they going to tell?" Diamond stops fighting. When he goes to get them he stuffs a gun into his waist. They have never carried weapons with them outside the training rooms before, but desperate times call for desperate measures. They are desperate right now.

He must have told them whats going on along the way because they move with more reverence than she's ever seen in an avox. The girl collapses the second she sees the princess. Diamond holds her he's feeling it too, we all are. The male avox that she's been training for years stands next to Gloss looking down at his master. They weren't lying when they told the princess the two wouldn't stand a chance against the twins, even sitting Gloss dwarfs the brat.

The brat lays his hand on her cheek, she lifts her own to cover his. "Gale?" Everyone's up and surrounding them in an instant. It's the first time she's said anything outside of her own garbled up name in a week.

If the princesses talking caught her unaware the next words floor her.

"I'm here." What the fuck?

"What the fuck?"

"He can talk without a tongue?" She's grown accustomed to Haymitch's mocking tone over the past few days but the urge to bounce his head off the wall hasn't left her yet. "Hey Gold? Who could they tell.. hmmm?" She doesn't think it'll ever leave.

"Gaylle.. Whatrr"

"She can't have water!" The red avox already holds a small cup to her lips.

Mags helps her take a sip.

Despite the new revelations and everyone being up and arms, Diamond pulling his gun the moment the avoxes mouth had started moving, it looks like bringing them was the right move.

One moment the red girl, who they had learned was in fact a real avox named Dolly, was there and the next she had vanished putting everyone on edge. The boy doesn't move or speak again. She must have gone to the president. They're finally settling on where to move the princess to buy themselves some time when she returns. She doesn't even flinch from Johanna's axe or Diamonds gun. She's brought back supplies, blood, water, food for both the princess and the rest of them, medication, fever pills, some type of goo to stop the wounds from getting any larger. She even brings back a sewing kit. They can't use it of course, sewing the stabbings shut would lock the infection in.

"How did you get all this? Everything was locked away earlier."

She looks at the back of the brats head, Gale's head. Apparently he could feel his presence being requested because he answered in her place, never even turning to acknowledge the rest of them. "Being the princesses personal avoxes has it's perks, you can just point out everything you want and no one questions it.. after all it would be the same as questioning her."

Gale. They had spent so much time with the brat, how could they never have known, never have suspected?

"She's stopped breathing!"

Diamond is there in an instant doing chest compression's, Finnick not far behind. He pushes Diamond aside and takes his place, it looks different than what she's known. They learn basic compression in district one when they are teaching tributes how to hold their breath. Finnick pushes harder, she's scared he's going to crush her wounded chest, breaths into her mouth. Repeats. Repeats. Repeats.

Everyone breathes again with her. "We can't keep doing this, she's in and out. Everyone is on edge. The room is chaos."

"What choice do we have?" Sweet Rahella.

"Dime-nnd"

"Princess?" She makes a movement with her hand like she wants to be propped up. Gold and Diamond share a look that agrees it's a bad idea. Cashmere and Gloss lift her with pillows anyway. "Princess..."

"I'm dying." No question. He can't do anything but nod. Gale looks like he wants to fight. "Thank you... for getting me out.. of there." She's talking to Diamond but she's not making any sense. "Victors?"

"They were gathering for the party when we brought you in. They followed us here."

"The party.. Next week?" He shares a look with Gold, how much should they tell her. How much should they let the others hear.

"You've been unconscious for a while princess."

"I heard your voice.. after.. that thing attacked me."

"Princess, Diamond never left the ship... When you were attacked I was the one to break ground. I looked for you for three days before I found you lying out in the open a mile away from the attack ground. You had run off."

"No.. Dime.." she's coughing and that stupid girl Dolly is giving her water even though we told her not to. She has a drip. "No, I need.. I need.. Dolly, get Ridmen.." She goes under again.

"You cannot get Mr. Ridmen." Why on earth would the princess want that man? She's met him a couple of times in passing but to request him on her death bed, even with his power nothing can be done, it's too much.

"Who is Mr. Ridmen?" Of course the victors wouldn't know. Even the victors living in the capitol permanently aren't completely in the know when it comes to powerhouses like him operating in the shadows. Hell she wouldn't know of him if she wasn't constantly surrounding the princess.

Gold never thought her life would turn out this way, not when she was back in the district one training grounds. She never thought she would come to know all these horrible secrets about people that could destroy her life without speaking a word. "The only man that the president fears."

Diamond offers to go with her but Dolly waves his concern away, snaps her fingers twice. Gold doesn't know if she should be more surprised the avox summoned the beast or that the beast listened. No one can control that monster.

"Maybe you shouldn't get too attached to that avox Diamond."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors.


	8. Come On Sweetheart

-Gold-

They've been waiting for hours now, everyone's on edge thinking about what she told them earlier. The tension in the room is palpable.

Cashmere and Gloss spent a few hours out. They're now cleaning up in the adjacent room, it's not much but it has a toilet, a sink, and a shower with a curtain. No one complains. Haymitch and Johanna haven't left the bunker since the moment they came in and Mags takes it a step farther by not leaving the princesses side. 'Bones' brings more food and Gale left without a word nearly two hours ago, if she didn't know better she'd think he really was an avox. Gold wonders how many words he's spoken out-loud in the past seven years.

Finnick had pointed out the blood in the princesses hair. They found the gash on the back of her head, thankfully not infected. They push the cart holding the princess into the bathroom, after the twins vacate the premises, and Mags cleans and closes the injury.

She and Diamond sit by the door with loaded guns. They've never felt so useless. So fucking useless.

A Little after one Dolly returns with twice as many Mutts as she left with. Of course she brought Rave back too.

He looms in the doorway, eyeing down all the victors, not the least bit intimidated. She can't say the same for the rest of them. "The air ship has been in camouflage mode for three days on the other side of the capitol wall, the inside is covered in blood matching our dear princess. Our Dear Princess who has been MIA for the past three days officially, unbeknownst to the the rest of the world of course. Where is she."

He hasn't even raised his voice but she can't breath can't bring herself to speak. He makes her hands shake.

"You're the man who helped me a few months ago at the party..." Wherever Rahella's thoughts were going get halted when he meets her eyes. Even Haymitch and Johanna, who seem to have no self preservation, step back from him.

Thankfully no one has to answer him when Mags, bless her heart, pushes the cart back through to the other side of the room.

He doesn't push his way through to her, he doesn't have to, no one stands in his way. He's looming over the princess staring at Mags, obviously expecting her to leave. She doesn't.

She knows the princess already looks dead, she's pale enough, the only thing indicating she's not is all the machines she's hooked to. Her chest barely moving.

Gold starts to tell him about her condition when she's interrupted.

He pulls her sheet off, then rips her shirt open, leaving her chest bare with no regard to the fact he's touching the princess inappropriately. Gold has never been so uncomfortable. She's pretty sure everyone feels the same, and she knows Finnick and the twins are prostitutes. He stares at her chest unblinking.

Ridmen is moving to touch her when Mags buries a scalpel in his hand. Bless her heart. It freaks them all out that he doesn't move away, just jerks the handle from her hand and stares her down. He's as tall as Gloss and nearly as big.

Johanna and Cashmere are holding Finnick down.

"It's... okaay." How long has the princess been up? Both her mutts have laid down across the floor in front of her cart, separating her from the rest of them. "I need.. talk, alone."

There's only so much privacy you can give someone in a 14x8 bunker but they try. Everyone moves to one side. Cashmere even escorts Mags by the arm to Finnick who holds the not so frail, frail woman.

He's touching her chest now, talking quietly to her. Gold knows he's touching her wounds but it doesn't stop the chill she feels, every part of her body telling her to rip his hand off. Haymitch is holding a bottle like a weapon. She's never felt more in-tune with the drunk. The princess doesn't seem to mind the intrusion. His meat fingers probing at her private parts.

"Don't lie to me now."

Minutes pass like hours, Ridmen is growing agitated with each that pass. He leans down for the princess to whisper in his ear, promptly stands and heads for the door.

"Wait! Please," She's grunting to push up against the metal cart. She's louder and sounding more alert then she has in the last week and a half. "Night.. honey..102... Roses, you finish?"

"No. You can." He's opened the door and is almost through it when he addresses the rest of them. "I will be back at the same time tomorrow night. If the princess is dead when I return, everyone in this room will follow her."

Dolly follows after him with the mutts. Gale doesn't return.

They had estimated the princess to pass within two hours

The night starts out hard. Rahella and Mags stay up while the rest of them try to get a few hours of peaceful shut-eye, but Rahella falls asleep along side them and when the princess starts seizing Mags can't wake them up. The sound of her body hitting the floor is what stirs them out of their slumber. The drunk gets to them first, despite the fact he was the farthest away. He gets her head in his lap.

She's ripped out all the tubes connecting to her medical equipment, blood, water, oxygen mask they had to attach to her, as well as hit her head on both the floor and side of a table. She's vomiting and he has to turn her over to get it out of her mouth. "Come on sweetheart."

Gold is frozen in place. She can't do anything but watch, none of them can. Mags had wandered off to the bathroom and was headed back in with the medical kit. Haymitch comforting her princess who looks like she's fighting a demon. The rest of them watch on. Diamond takes her hand. She takes Cashmere's. Johanna puts her arms around her waist, it's stiff but solid, and when she looks up she's surrounded by victors. Embracing and holding one another. Gloss and Finnick share whispers.

"Come on, come on sweetheart, come back to me." Her body goes stiff. "Finnick I need you."

The princess must have stopped breathing again.

Pump, pump, pump, breath, pump, pump, pump, pump, pump, breath. Breath. She's breathing. Gold's breathing.

Haymitch lays her back on the cold metal. Diamond is attaching her back to all their equipment while Mags goes back to work on her head. Johanna sits with Haymitch on one side and when Finnick finishes washing the vomit from his mouth and face he goes to help Mags. His hands are solid. He tells them to rest while he takes the next watch. They lay down but no one settles or closes their eyes again. Rahella cries.

Her fever returns with a vengeance. They've run out of fever pills. She runs out of blood. Gloss and Cashmere go back to donating. "I'm going to get some shit."

"Everything's closed. First aid centers won't open for a few hours and the hospitals aren't going to let you wander through their stock rooms."

She knows that obviously. She'll find a way, this is her princess, her child. "I'll come with." She'd rather go alone but forget telling Mason that.

The buildings two over and they're there in fifteen minutes. "Where do they keep everything?"

"Fuck if I know." She'll find a way.

Twenty minutes pass with no luck. "Maybe we should split up?"

"Not happening. The only good it'd do would be to half our man power and send us going back and forth between the same rooms." They didn't start out on great terms and honestly haven't managed to get on good terms in the last three day, four nights, they've spent together, but Gold is suddenly glad Johanna came with her. Glad the the eighteen year old has taken charge when she couldn't. "There is a way but I need to know how much we need this right now? Can we make do without?"

"We can't."

"Alright, we'll deal with the consequences later then." Suddenly she's reaching around a bend in the wall and pulling a nurse back with her, her axe digging into soft flesh. "Take me to your medical supplies now! Medicine and blood!" There eyes meet. Gold specifies the blood type. "O- blood, If you make a sound they'll bury you with this handle sticking out your forehead."

Johanna drags the girl through the directions until they make it to a door at the back of a small hallway. "Open it." The woman is a crying mess, telling them she doesn't have access. Only doctors can open the supply closets.

Johanna tells her to close her eyes. She doesn't. She breaks her neck.

Gold is still staring at the body when Johanna comes back wearing a white gown and a doctors robe. She had a key card. "You had no idea how you were going to get this shit done, did you doll face?"

They leave the woman nude in a locker. No one questions the doctor and nurse carting out a box of blood and medicine.

When she takes the robe off in the bunker Johanna's covered in blood. She remembers her games, how she took the clothes of her victims. Gold thought it was disgusting how she never even flinched while wearing the clothes that someone had died in. Today she understands. They make the best of what is given to them.

The fever passes in less than an hour. Finnick, Gloss and Cashmere take turns giving blood between bags in order to preserve what they have. They've all given far too much and when they aren't hooked up they sleep. Finnick leaves for a few hours in the middle of the day and smells like woman and sweat when he returns. Gloss takes both their shifts, lets him sleep.

They don't have any windows but it should be getting dark right about now. Two, three more hours? Four at the most before Ridmen returns. Then what? Then they leave? Come back to get the princesses body and have her buried properly? What are they Waiting for exactly? What does Ridmen want from them?

Her face is wet. She keeps seeing the dead nurse with her head turned backwards. Johanna spoons her back.

Gold will never hurt the people in this room. She knows with confidence though that she can hurt for them.

Ridmen arrives at exactly one in the morning. His eyes are bruised. He's alone.

His hand is wrapped in white bandages where the scalpel had been dug in. The same hand holds a metal pot that looks an awful lot like a game parcel. The other hand holds a very official looking metal tin.

His arrival has woken everyone up and has them moving to the opposite side of the room. Mags stays. It doesn't seem to bother Ridmen today.

The sheet is stripped away followed again be her shirt. He doesn't try to wake her up. He doesn't mention the new injuries that cover her head and face. He just hands Mags the needle and starts putting paste from the parcel into her rotting flesh. Mags sews. Haymitch carries a bottle like a weapon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors


	9. Own The Advantage

-gold-

He'd left the moment everything was sewn up, leaving the medical can off to one side, with instructions to 'leave her alone'.

The night had been so much quieter then the one before, no fevers, seizures, vomiting, or crying. Everything was still. Mags sitting next to the princess in silence, never touching her, while the rest of them share looks. No one wants to be the one to go and declare the death.

They're all in the same spots when he returns. He drops a box next to the entrance. Had this been two days ago he would have been met with half a dozen weapons but today everyone is too tired, too defeated. What was it all for anyway? Ridmen doesn't stop in the doorway like before, he heads right for Cashmere who looks freaked out by the thought of him ripping her shirt off. She knows it's what they're all thinking.

"Pardon the intrusion." He jerks her leg up to his shoulder and starts rolling her pants up. Cashmere has hidden a small sharp dagger on her calf, Ridmen pulls it from its strap of leather with his teeth and when he stands he's still holding the fabric so it roll back to her ankle.

She doesn't waste a moment before scooting her way back into her brothers waiting arms and chest. "Whoa, I've got you. It's okay."

He cuts at the princes. Reopens each stab wound, Gold gets up to get a better view. "You shouldn't harm the body anymore then it already is."

"The body? You mean the princess?" Obviously she means the princesses body,who else would she be talking about.

He cuts through the stitches. The smell is horrible, chunks of rotten flesh fall to the table. Ridmen digs in with his fingers, pulling out chunk after chunk barehanded. Diamond is gagging next to her and she's pretty sure Rahella and Gloss stepped out with Cash. When he's finished with the first stab wound he goes to the next, then the third, then she's bleeding all over the place while he's pulling bagged blood out of the box he'd brought in. Bleeding... the dead can't bleed.

"SHE'S ALIVE?" He doesn't flinch but Haymitch does.

"There's no fucking way."

"Of course she is, she can't die when she still has so much left to do. She wouldn't allow it." His hands move around the wholes in her chest for a few more minutes. Mags has pulled over a bin that's been filled with the rot. She waves her hand around and then Finnick is there, pulling a cabinet door off the hinges to use as a lid. "The infections gone, now we just have to fix and clean her up. No one will ever mention the time spent in this bunker of course."

"How is it gone? There's no cure?" Finnick hasn't spoken much over the last few day but right now she sees some life coming back to the capitol darling.

"There was no cure, but as you can see I've brought one." It's not possible, you can't find a cure and produce it all in less then 24 hours. He's not telling them something but she honestly doesn't care. Her princess is alive, will be alive tomorrow and the day after that. She could kiss the man, she doesn't of course but she could.

"I see why the president is afraid of you." She hadn't heard Cashmere return but most people wouldn't. Standing in the doorway not a hair out of place. Gold will never understand how the twins can manage to look so perfect in complete chaos, it was the same during their games. Ridmen actually smiles at her.

He stays all day, standing off in the corner after instructing Mags on how to use the Medical can on the princesses wounds, never speaking. Cash sits a few feet away.

The goo they spread over her chest has started repairing the flesh and muscle. Gold wonders if this is the stuff that they use on new victors that leave their flesh without so much as a scratch. Mags rubs some on her face and scalp. They spend most of the day that way, huddling around the princess, watching her chest and face heal. The eye wrap Gold had placed on her days before had been soaked through with blood and had to be removed, leaving her whole face on show. The princess has always been beautiful, a wild beauty. She didn't think they were in danger of her waking any time soon though, so she'd worry about that later.

Right before evening is getting ready to set is when Ridmen casually mentions to Cashmere that 'she's going to be running late if she doesn't leave soon', Cash gives him the most puzzled look before jumping and fleeing out of the room. "We'd best get going too, though it's a waste after you've made this home for yourself, I have a much better closet you can all hide away in."

"What do you mean? The princess hasn't woken up yet. You can't just lay her in bed and hope the maids don't notice." Haymitch had run out of liquor in the night and since no one had been out that day he way actually truly sober for once. She liked him better drunk.

"My sister just left, we can't leave until she gets back."

Ridmen has removed everything connected to the princess by this point and is lifting and depositing her into Finnicks arms. He holds out an arm to Mags who links hers into the nook. It's all very bazaar. When he leads, they follow.

"You live in the Advantage?"

"I own the Advantage." Finnick and Gloss both look at each other in discomfort. She can't make out what they say but she's pretty sure she hears the words 'Cashmere', 'coincidence' and 'the one' escaping their mouths. They pass the main entrance and enter a door on the side of the building. They end up walking down multiple flights of stairs that have her worrying about Finnick's ability to carry the princess after the rough few days he's been through. It's definitely not a 'closet'.

"Lay her there, Mr. Odair. You and Gloss can take everyone up to your rooms and get cleaned up. That means to shower and change your clothes. The door over their leads to a secondary elevator." He must be used to dismissing people.

She goes with Gloss. All the girls do. When they get off after a whole three minute ride to the 102nd floor, ridiculous, Haymitch and Diamond stay behind with Finnick to head farther up.

This place is lavish. "You and Cashmere live here? All the time?" It must be nicer than Rahella's rooms too.

Gloss shows Mags to one bathroom while pointing her to another. Gold could live in this shower. She's got three sprayers blasting her with water and two with sugar cookie soap. "Bad-ass like you? I was expecting ceder wood and musk." Johanna's sarcasm rivals Haymitch's.

"Shit! Why are you naked?"

"Don't act like we don't have the same parts, doll face. I'm here to wash your back, and i'm nude, not naked. Nothing about me that's vulnerable... Why you want a demonstration?" She's doing this weird thing that's making her eyebrows jiggle up and down, but Gold get the hint. The shower ends when Gold sticks a metal pipe between the door handles after turning all the faucet heads to cold with the instructions for Johanna to 'cool down'.

Everyone sits around the fire place, drinks in hand waiting for Rahella and Gloss to finish cleaning up... meaning 'to shower and change clothes'. Diamond and Haymitch are in Finnicks clothes and thankfully Gloss managed to find something to fit all the woman from his sisters closet, excluding Mags who wears his shirt like a dress. Gloss promises them his sister won't mind, Johanna tells him she should be the one to mind having to wear this dumb shit. She hadn't noticed how bad things had gotten for all of them. They almost look like themselves. The dress she's put in is sexy and probably worth more then her wardrobe.

Three minutes down the elevator.

The princess is also looking much better, she's not covered in blood for starters and her hair is damp from being washed, but she's still hooked to quite a few machines. A clean white sheet covers her to the neck and Gold is positive she's nude underneath. Naked. Ridmen's sleeves are rolled up past his elbows. She wishes she hadn't left him alone with her.

"Is that my apartment?" Sure enough Finnick is pointing to a large screen with an apartment just as beautiful as the twins's. She feels the need to ask if he lives in that all the time.

"It is." He makes eyes with Gloss again, she knows she's missing something. Ridmen doesn't bother changing the screen.

They sit around on large sofas with food and drinks. With the weight off her shoulders, she starts dozing in and out. She notes when Cashmere makes it in. When Ridmen hands her coffee even though everyone else has alcohol. Haymitch and Rahella chatting in the corner. Mags siting next to her princess. Out.

She smells coffee and eggs. Cashmere is the only one awake. "Where did you get that?"

"Here, it's a phone, if you press one the kitchen will send you anything you want."

"What time is it?"

"3pm?" She never checked the time before falling asleep but she's estimate it about 2-3.

"I slept twelve hours?"

Cashmere pulls her coaster closer before setting her coffee down and looking at her. They have the most beautiful blond hair and green eyes, the twins. "You slept thirty-six hours.. If it makes you feel better you're the first to wake up. I'll order you some eggs and toast, do you want juice or coffee?"

"Thirty-six..? Uhh, water."

She's finishing up by the time the rest of them start to rouse. It's all very domestic, they order each other food, lay blankets on a still asleep Mags, Gloss kisses his sisters head and sips from her coffee, she even holds up the last bite of her toast and feeds it to him. Finnick doesn't even tell the cooks what he wants just says 'I'm in the basement.. I think' before hanging up.

She doesn't want it to end.

It somehow doesn't surprise her a bit when Finnick finishes three plates of sweet flavored crepes and pancakes covered in syrup and fruit. Gloss getting a whole new plate of eggs and toast but asking for two spoons and giving one to his sister. Diamond drinking his protein and Johanna ending up with nothing but a plate of meats. She'd stay with them forever if she could.

They spend the day having fun. They play stupid games all morning and then pick each others food for lunch. They even spar. Diamond beats her and Rahella. She actually looses to the drunk which leaves her salty and sitting out the next few rounds. Finnick beats Rahella, then Haymitch, Johanna, Diamond and her when she finishes mopping, it doesn't sting as much loosing to a born fighter. Gloss takes everyone down but ends up letting his sister win, he always did back in training. Gloss and Finnick size each other up but neither mentions a match. Finnick lets Cashmere win.

Ridmen brings the mutts in, Slyth is covered in blood.

"Ugh, where am I Mr. Ridmen? We'll talk about this later." Their princess is sitting up. Clutching the sheet to her chest. Gold can't tell if she's nude or naked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors


	10. Ribbons Around My Wrists

Katniss feels horrible. She doesn't remember much, Katniss, Diamond, the scorching pain, Mags and then Ridmen.

She remembers talking to Ridmen, her head had been throbbing but it was easy to ignore compared to what was happening to the rest of her. She'd told him how she'd gotten attacked in the Dark world, didn't need to tell him that it'd gotten infected. She just needed him to promise and finish what she'd been working on before she had departed.

She couldn't figure out why there were so many victors in the room, half of them didn't even belong to her.

The revelation? Diamond hadn't been the one to save her. The rough voice calling out her name hadn't belonged to him. Someone on the wrong side of history was alive and knew her name? Wasn't possible. Whoever was with her in that moment wasn't calling her name.

'Katniss root is the cure' is what she had whispered to Mr. Ridmen. He'd promised to find some. They both knew that katniss only grew on the outskirts of district twelve. The farthest district from the capitol, it took two and a half days to get there by train. She didn't have two and a half days in her. Definitely not five.

He'd told her she could finish her own work.

Looks like in the end he hadn't lied to her after all.

"Gold, Diamond, I need a robe." She hopes Mr. Ridmen hadn't told them anything, doubts he would, she doesn't want to have to explain how she found the answer to the cure. Was given the answer. People don't survive on the outside.

Her chest should be healed in another day or two, won't even leave a scar.

"Good morning, rather evening, I hope the room is to your liking?"

"How long have I been here?" Her chest throbs but overall she feels no worst for wear.

"We spent about a week outside before you were attacked, you ran for three days, two coming back to the capitol, four in the bunker and another two here, princess." Diamond hands her a robe and ties a blindfold around her eyes. She pushes the hair out of her face for him, Diamond can see her eyes it's the victors she doesn't let see.

She doesn't like how he says she 'ran for three days', she'd never run after hearing the mans voice. That's a worry for another day.

Mr. Ridmen brings her a holo, one of the new designs she's not yet released, when he taps the screen a dead mutt appears. "This is what attacked you on the outside, the tail is what punctured your chest, not a knife. I sent Slyth back out to find and kill it. He should be back soon" She doesn't care about how he ordered around her mutt, she can look into that later, what bothers her is the mutt on screen. She's seen it before. She designed it. A mutt with a tail that's long and sharp like a whip, can climb trees, can breath under water. A mutt she made for the 71st games.

They don't show Johanna.

She's drinking broth Diamond brought for her while the victors across the room watch her with hesitant eyes. Gold and Diamond have been hovering around her since she woke up an hour ago. They both keep looking back and meeting the gazes of the others. Something must have happened since their return to the capitol, and she'll have to look into it when she's fully healed, there seems to be quite a bit of things she's going to be looking into later. For now she's satisfied with the space. Katniss never wanted the victors growing too close to her.

Ridmen left not long after showing her the hologram and returns when she finishes her food.

Gold and Diamond barely move. "Let's talk in private." She has to nod her head in order to get the district one duo to leave them and return to the others.

Mr. Ridmen holds up the holo between them, on the screen a barrier is listed for the room. It's a question. He wants her to help him put on a show, to distance himself from the others. She understands the need. Nods. The barrier is at attention with a resounding 'Zzzp', she looks at it just to she sees her own reflection. One way sight. One way sound. Nothing fancy but still effective.

His arms are on either side of her bed blocking her in as he leans his face into hers, without a moments notice he's crossing the room and pulling out a cup to use at the tea dispenser. Nine spoons of honey. There's a small wooden table on the other side of her, about five feet away and he sits the cup in front of one chair. "Please." It's her tea, it's her seat. She hadn't wanted to move around and slow the progress being made on her chest but she'll make do. Looks back at the force field.

When he returns with his own cup and sits across from her is when she notices the advantage he'd placed himself in, back to the barrier light behind him. His shadow covers her and the others can only see her clearly from their side. She's always been a great actor. Her tea's perfect.

Mr. Ridmen pulls out a small vial from his chest pocket and pulls her cup from her face back to the table. Whatever's in the vial gets poured into her drink. This isn't how she'd expected this to go. "Mr. Ridmen?"

"You are welcome to leave right now, I've called a driver to pick you up and he's already on his way. Or. This vial contained neuromuscular blocking agents that will render someone paralyzed for twenty four hours. It's completely harmless. If you finish your tea these agents will take effect in two or three minutes, in that time you will be allowed to ask me any questions you'd like."

The tea is still hot when she finishes.

"Be careful what you ask, you may not like the answers, you may upset me." The others may not like the answers. The questions she needs answers for are the same ones she's been hiding from the rest of the world her whole life, she needs to paint him like a villain, she needs to get something out of all this. It's a short rope.

"My grandfather tried to kill you.." Where is she going with this?

"Twice." They say together.

She once heard a rumor about him, it's all she's got. "You broke into my room once when I was six," His eyes are narrowed at her, she upset him. His eyes move to the force field and back before his eyebrows relax. Proceed, he's telling her. "I pretended to be asleep. You played with my hair and tied ribbons around my wrists, when you left you pulled my covers up, and kissed my head." He says it at the same time she mentions it. She is almost completely out of time now, she's having trouble moving and staying up. Her tongue weighs a ton. "Was that why my grandfather tried to kill you?"

He's laughing. "No. Silly girl, your grandfather has no idea the moves I make."

"Is it true that you like playing with little girls?"

She doesn't need to see whats going on on the other side of the room, Katniss knows the response she'll be getting from this.

Mr. Ridmen is up and on her in an instant. He gathers her wrists and stabs a knife through the palms of her hands into the wood. Her back is on the table and her feet dangle off the floor. That vial must have had some numbing qualities too because she doesn't feel an ounce of pain. She can have this healed in two days. She makes strangled sounds for the audience. She's always been the best actor. His knee is lifted and pinning her chest down, now his whole body looms over her small frame. "Do I look like i'm playing?"

The rumor or the thought of him ever molesting children leaves her mind. He's too powerful to ever let such news circulate, if this was damming to him she never would have heard about it in the first place. "This is mahogany."

His lips are at her ear, hers at his. "Do you know who's whoring out the tribute?" He's given her this chance, she won't let it pass.

"I have an idea but there's no evidence. Odair is back in." She passes out.

Rave and Slyth are curled around her when she wakes up next. She feels great, wound free and scar free. The drug was for one day but she managed to sleep another on her own. Turns out the driver Mr. Ridmen had called for her was Cinna and he's still here.

Gales gone. Cinna had helped him leave, won't tell her were. "He'll return to you. Tonight the castle is holding a surprise ball, I think you should show your face."

That's how she finds herself being primped and coddled throughout the day. They have fruit with bread and meat that they dip in a waterfall of cheese when they feel peckish. When he helps her get dressed he reminds her that he'll always be her best friend, when he hugs her she reminds him she'll always be his. He never designs her shoes, she wouldn't wear them anyway.

Cinna escorts her to the party as always, they dance for one song, he wanders off with Slyth. The victors make pretty wallflowers. For the first time Diamond is attending and stands with them. All victors receive invitations to capitol gatherings they simply choose to ignore them when given the choice.

Katniss has been drinking for the past ten minutes and is about to call Cinna so they can depart when she notices Slyth, slinking his way around Gloss. The victor rubs her mutt and jerks on his tail a bit. It's very playful. Cinna, Dolly and Katniss are the only ones able to control the monster.

She gets to him as a woman with blond hair and green skin rubs his arms and chest. Someone must be finding these people, the ones who pay for the victors pleasure, if she can find them her grandfather would be powerless to continue the sick work. "You must be Gloss, 68th victor?"

"Princess Snow it's such an honor to see you, I donated to your games last year."

"Princess." Gloss is a giant, 6,8" and 270 lbs, she's seen his files, feels powerful when he bows and kisses her hand.

"Please call me Katniss, I want us to be friends." She tugs him into a dance leaving the sickly woman behind. "Why did you volunteer for the game?"

This isn't how he'd planned there dance to go. "I was trained to win the games, to honor my family and district."

Slyth has moved on to the affection of Cashmere, interesting. "Now Gloss, I told you I wanted us to be friends, friends don't lie to one another do they?"

"I'm sorry princess, I just don't think you'll like my answer."

"The world is full of many things I don't like, I'd like to change those things. I'd like you to help me." She doesn't have to win him over, he doesn't need convincing.

"They raped my sister." Katniss already knows that she just never expected it to be his reasoning. "We're orphans that got taken in for training, district one only trains tributes that have nothing to loose. They plan out every year who's the best male and female to volunteer and it's a crime for any one else to volunteer in their place, that's why you never see stampeding during the reaping. My sister was chosen the year Gold and Diamond left and I was released from duty when she won. When she came home she cried at night. The capitol threatened to have me killed if she didn't comply, I figured if I won I could lesson her burden and if I didn't then I wouldn't be the burden anymore. When I volunteered out of place I wasn't allowed in the career pack. Cash had to mentor me because the others wouldn't" Her chest is heavy and she's scared she'll cry in the ballroom.

"I didn't want anything to do with the games those years.. I would have chosen you two you know. I'm going put an end to it," She doesn't even know what she's talking about when she says it but she's never been so sure of her truth. "I need you're help. You can never tell anyone about anything I tell you, not even Cashmere, we'll make this right." He doesn't need to be convinced, he'd do anything for his baby sister.

The song ends signalling they've run out of time. He walks her to the victors corner, Slyth and Cinna wait for her. When she goes to leave he pulls her hand to his lips and thanks her, really thanks her. His eyes never looked like the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors


	11. Kisses His Lips In Parting

Katniss finishes her lessons early and spends an extra hour in training. Her grandfather has been gone from the castle for the past two day and had given her instructions to attend his meeting in his place for the week. Tonight she will dine with Pelenos.

Katniss never attended formal meetings before but she's managed to get more food out to the outlining districts and double the funds for technical improvements around Panem so she can't be doing too bad. She's been noticing little things like this for a while now, her grandfather pushing her to make a small speech or prompting her to attend more social gatherings and converse with the high profile names around the capitol, it must be his way of getting her ready to one day take on the role of queen.

He had been declared president at the age of twenty two, during the twenty second games, after his father who founded Panem had been wounded and needed time to heal from his injuries. At the time they were still using the term president from the dark days. Coriolanus Snow had announced the Snow bloodline as the royal family soon after his rise to power but had already been known as president for two years. His father had been president in the Dark Days. He was always a king.

Kicking it into double time to catch up on the game planning, Katniss was halfway finished with the 73rd games two months earlier than usual. She'd cut out Mutts this year and had added in a conundrum of beautiful poisonous plants and natural, not so natural, disasters. She hasn't wanted much to do with any mutts aside from her own since nearly being killed by one. She thinks she'll set the sky to a constant state of sun rises followed by Sun sets. It's going to be a dessert.

Pelenos brings her beautiful clothes from the Dark World and laughs when she jumps into his arms. It's not knew for one of her grandfathers business partners to bring her extravagant gifts to earn his favor but Pelenos has always taken the time to bring her something pertaining to her interest, often something rare or one of a kind from the Dark Days. Books or wines, Jewelry or weapons, he once gave her a real human skull over a hundred years old. The skull of a renowned serial killer. It now lays on her book shelve next to a plague mask.

"No business tonight princess, just pleasures! We're going out, dinner and then out for a night on the town!"

Dinner is wonderful, the staff clear the room and bring her bubbly alcohols. She gets two plates, he gets three, they pick at each others food. The pastas are her favorite and he gets her to eat a snail.

Pelenos is a typical capitol resident with too much money and not enough time to spend it. Mid forties and orange from head to toe, always along for a smile and a laugh. Katniss imagines this is what it would be like to have a doting uncle. She doesn't need to wear her stoic mask when she's with him, she still wears her eye mask. "Have you considered painting your nails orange dear?" He's asked her a hundred times over the years, will ask her a thousand times over the next.

They go down to the capitol courtyard where the citizens gather for the craze every other night. He's not any good at dancing and steps on her feet half a dozen times while she laughs and guides him to the fast music. He spins her out and she wraps back into his side. They watch the fireworks reflected in the water of a large fountain before she kisses his lips in parting. Typical capitol night. She admits she enjoyed every moment though, a little fun never hurt no one.

Katniss returns to her pretty castle, as the world sways behind her eyes, laughing with every step.

When Diamond steps out during her training the next day Gold cuts the lesson short. "I want to help."

"You are helping, I hit the target every time today." She has the gull to roll her eyes.

"You hit the target in non vital.. never mind. I want to help with the victors. I know about everything that's been going on, I know about the prostitution. I overheard the president talking about it. I know you don't like it either and together I think we can put an end to it."

The weeks after she'd healed had been hard, she was no closer to finding the one responsible for her victors anguish, been told of Finnicks re-involvement, perhaps never ended involvement, in it all. To top everything off her grandfather has been disposing of game mutts by releasing them into the Dead World and she had no idea why or what to do with that knowledge.

"What do you have in mind?"

Turns out what Golds has in mind may end up being the answers to all her problems. She should have thought of it herself.

When she asks where her sudden interest in the victors came from Gold tells her that she wants to do anything to protect her 'family'. It's not the first time Katniss has wandered where her obsession with the victors came from. What does she viewed them as, pets, entertainment, certainly not family, perhaps one day though?

Katniss has been to a handful of parties in her life but never thrown one in her own name. She needs a theme that will entice the populace. She decides on masquerade, well known for her own eye mask, it's the obvious choice. She volunteers all victors to attend in more of a volun-told way and plans the gathering for three days out, that should be just enough time.

Diamond just so happens to get asked to help Dolly with some errands, courtesy of Gold. She hadn't even noticed her instructors very obvious crush on her sworn avox until it had been dangled in front of her face. Katniss calls in Gloss.

She wears a new design Cinna makes for her. Strapless black silk that stops mid thigh, he even makes her a new mask to match. They get her hair mostly out of her face and into a large messy bun on the top of her head. Smoke has become her new signature so he has some tumble out of her hair. Slyth gets a matching collar.

Cinna makes over Gold too, tying her long blonde hair into a birdcage on her head and painting it gold. Her skin is dyed grey and her blue eyes get covered with large black feathers. Silver chains cover her body. He finishes the look with a living dove. She's unrecognizable.

The victors are more on edge than usual. Summoned from their district homes to the capitol for the princesses first ever social party, they practically cower in the corner when she enters. They watch her throughout the night. None of them approach her, none of them approach Mr. Ridmen across the room.

She and Cinna are the last to arrive at the strike of midnight. The guests rush her with gifts and drinks and she dances with many of them, even shares a dance with Gold posing as a citizen.

It's going well and she has to laugh watching Gold rub herself all over Gloss as she talks too loudly about how dove's mate for life and how she's a symbol for broken hearts everywhere. Guests walk through the room bowing and kissing hands, when they dance they flash each other smiles and subtly show each other their eyes, wink and giggle.

Slyth lounges with the wallflowers. Annie is doing well today and dances with Finnick on the balcony where the rest of the room won't notice them, he locks eyes with her for a moment before turning away and putting his head down. Mags stuffs her face, picking items off trays every time an avox walks by. It's a great hit.

The sun peaks through the windows and guests fall out the doors and down the steps. Cinna is with Haymitch, they've stayed longer than they normally would and she goes to get him so they can't sleep off the drinks in her rooms. She doesn't manage to reach them before a woman is yelling for her, when she looks back red wine covers her face. Katniss feels the gaze of wide eyes from all sides of the room. It's the sickly looking woman who had been hanging off of Gloss the night she'd taken him to dance. She's drunk.

"Enough!" She motions Cinna back, but the woman hasn't had enough. The wench calls her demeaning slurs and blames her for being removed from 'the lovers list'. She's signalling a guard when the the woman throws her glass, it goes right and catches the edge of a force field. Shards fly in all directions while citizens scatter. Katniss stands tall, eyes closed, between the barrier and the tributes, thick shards impaling her face and neck, cutting her dress open. Annie and the others are behind her. She'll protect them. The glass lessons and when she opens her eyes Mr. Ridmen is shielding her with his body.

"Protect your master!" Slyth is on the woman in an instant, he doesn't pay any mind to her shrieks as he pulls her from the room.

"It's just a scratch," She tells Mr. Ridmen before addressing the room. "I'm alright." Inside she's an inferno.

That night when her cuts have been healed and she's dressed in a thin nightgown Gold visits her. Her hair is back to normal but she'll be grey for a about a week, so she's going to be skipping training. Gold had played her role wonderfully, pretending to be a capitol citizen and questioning the men and women who got a little too handsy with the victors. She'd showed just enough interest and just enough money to share some hushed words and be escorted out by two well to do women, all in an attempt to put a name to the person playing an old fashioned madam.

She hadn't thought her night could end any worse than it already had.

"Do you know a man named Pelenos?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors


	12. Pestilent

She goes under the radar. Spends four days in the underground cellars with the sickly woman who is in fact actually sick now.

She's been down here twice before. The first time was when she was six and a man had became violent with her while she was in the street. Her grandfather had the man arrested and brought down here. The next day he'd shown her the cells and told her they were for anyone who openly questioned the royal family and to use them as she sees fit. He'd given her a gun and showed her how to shoot the man. The second time had been when she was nine and a couple had attempted to kidnap her in her bed, she'd been practicing with Diamond and Gold for a year at that point and escaped. She killed them before she found out the motive.

Today Gold stands next to her listening to Chertly, who's missing both eyes and has more muscle showing than flesh, tell them all of Pelenos's dirty secrets. He'd came to her grandfather just after she'd been born and suggested the idea, it was less about money and more about ensuring they had complete control over the victors. It didn't stop him from keeping a large sum of the cash for himself. He'd spread rumors about Mr. Ridmen's integrity to take the heat off himself after being found with a fourteen year old district girl tied up in his bed. Had been responsible for the murder of Haymitch's and Johanna's families.

She'd loved the man like family, like she thought family should be. The time she'd spent with him, the meals, the dancing, the teasing. He'd visited her during her lessons, would tuck her in when he'd stopped by at night. He'd brought her gifts with the dirty money he'd gotten from the victors. He'd kissed her goodbye.. he'd been grooming her.

She leaves a hole between where Chertly's eyes should be.

Gold doesn't flinch like Katniss thought she would. She's glad to have her there, glad to be able to share her darkness with someone other than her grandfather.

They discuss ways to remove him from power, they could bury his body in the Dark World if they abducted him but that would involve letting Diamond in on everything and neither want that, besides too many people would question such a powerful mans disappearance. Too much commotion. In the end everything falls through and she knows she can't ask her grandfather to get rid of him without cause.

What's to stop her grandfather from replacing him? They can't leave the participants unpunished.

She'll just have to make a cause.

She doesn't tell Gold her idea.

She puts the finishing touches on the 73rd games six months before the games will start. She chooses the whole cast this year as well, her victor will be a male from nine named Rain. She can hear the citizens laughing already about the Rain in the desert.

Pelenos come's around like usual, she plays along like usual. He gives her old poetry and she asks if he can find her hair accessories from the Dark World.

A handful of victors are visiting the castle today. They've been spending more time in the capitol recently and have been regularly visiting Rahella and her trainers since her accident. She'll make herself scarce.

She visits Cinna in his workshop and puts in an order for an upcoming dance taking place in two months. There are half a dozen parties happening before then but she's got no plan to attend those. Usually she leaves her wardrobe in his more then capable hands, he's well antiquated with her tastes, but today she needs something specific. They share a bottle with lunch.

The sun is setting when she makes it back to the palace.

"Katniss." She's passing through the ball room when he calls her from the corner. She usually takes a back entrance in but the front door had been closer. He's not much older than her, eighteen or nineteen at most, blonde hair and blue eyes. Attractive.

"You are?" He introduces himself as Pestilent. "Well Pestilent, has anyone told you it's rather rude to address your superior by first name?" She doesn't typically care but hearing her name being spoken out loud by a complete stranger still irks her.

"I have." He hasn't stopped smiling, he irks her.

"Well, Pestilent, don't you agree?"

"I do agree, you should really stop calling me by my first name." Who does he think he is? "Ah, forgive me. We haven't been formally introduced yet, have we? I am Prince Pestilent Snow. It's a pleasure to finally meet my baby cousin." What? She doesn't have a cousin. She's never had a cousin, never been TOLD about a cousin. Where did he come from?

She keeps a knife on her at all times. Double checks the holo in her pocket and powers it up.

"Don't look so confused. My father, your uncle, was the elder brother of your mother Princess Zahlan, making me your elder cousin. The first prince and heir to the Panem nation." He does have the typical royal looks.

"I've never heard of you or your father, what makes you think you're going to be the next king?"

"Oh? Did you think YOU were going to be the next president?," He's mocking her. Laughing at her. "Well I suppose silly girls are prone to silly thoughts. I've been raised from birth to take the throne, and you, you've been raised since birth to play games, or am I mistaken?" He's right, grandfather had always pushed her to take on the games, never mentioned her becoming queen. She'd made those assumptions all on her own, but she'd never had any competition, taking the throne had always seemed second nature. It was a given. The throne was a given. She feels silly.

A mutt twice the size of Slyth joins him. Slyth is spending the day with Dolly and Rave barely even reaches her hip, she's at a huge disadvantage right now. "Wait, you actually thought the president was molding you to lead the people? You? Forget the districts even the capitol would rebel after seeing your disgusting eyes," He knows. "As if you could ever have a place here, dirty scum." His voice is growing more hostile so she's slips the knife into her sleeve.

"What did you call me?" He's still smiling when he repeats himself.

"Destroyer."

"No, RAVE!" The huge mutt is on him.

She swipes at his face with the blade but he deflects her arm, grabs both her ears and smashes his knee into her nose before throwing her back. Rave is free and running for her. She gets a barrier up on her holo just in time for three knifes to bounce off. He's laughing.

"Thought you were special? The president got me trainers too you know, Ryan, Richard," They must have been guarding the doors. Dark hair and pale skin. "District two trainers, there's a reason district two has more victors than district one you know. They're the best of the best. Destroyer was also a gift, but i'm sure you figured that out by now. You're nothing special. You're just a sad little girl playing games alone, watching chess pieces on the sideline."

She's still on the ground when he makes it to the doors. "You're wrong Pestilent. You call him president, I call him grandfather. I live in the castle with him, eat with him, attend gatherings and meetings with him, where have you been all those times? Grandfather has always spoken about me during interviews and parties, always introduced me to powerful associates. The whole world knows I exist but no one has ever heard your name. He's never mentioned you and you don't live in the castle. You must be a real disappointment for him to hide you away like that." She struck a cord. He's not smiling when he leaves.

Nothing is fucking going right!

Katniss runs through halls, pushing doors open, she needs to talk to Gold. When she finds her she's in the game room surrounded by Diamond and laughing victors. Annie, Chaff, Lyme and Enobaria are sitting with them. Haymitch and Chaff both have their hands on the same bottle. It's too late to be discrete, the door bouncing off the wall made sure of that. "Diamond, Gold. What do you know about the district two trainers Ryan and Richard?"

Diamond shakes his head at Gold when they meet eyes and looks back at her with clear confusion. "We've heard the names before but not much else... Did they do that to your face?"

"They're mean bastards, what do you wanna know for?" Fuck. Enobaria is from two. Lyme is from two as well.

"They're in the capitol."

"Let's walk and talk."

Enobaria is no nonsense. She tells Katniss about how district two much like district one pre-plans their tributes each year, but the training is much stricter. They raise two males and females from birth and only let them volunteer for the games when they turn eighteen, so they have four qualified tributes every year. Unlike district one that focuses on perfecting one weapon of choice, district two demands training in all military weapons including hand to hand combat. The tributes are chosen with a fight to the death between each sex.

Ryan and Richard were both tribute candidates when they were beaten the month before their games, barely surviving. "They started training when they were eighteen, and we had three back to back years before they vanished right before the 64th games, the victor who won the year they were disqualified also vanished. I took the 62nd games under them. Whatever they're doing here probably isn't good." The woman is frightening but honest.

"Say they were training someone in the capitol for the past ten years... what would you make of it?"

"Anyone who would willingly spend that much time with those two can't be in their right mind, especially considering what they did to your face." Enobaria is holding up a hand before she can even think about arguing. "Those two are out here training someone for a reason, you gonna tell me who?"

"My cousin."

They loop back around. She tells Enobaria how her training is focused on the bow and arrow but she's also been taught about plants, fires, and survival skills. When they get back to the game room she stops Katniss with a hand on her chest. "You've been up to some shit recently. You've always been up to shit but now it's more than usual. I know how to read people. Whatever you're doing can't be wrong if Ryan and Richard are after you, so starting tomorrow morning Brutus and I are going to be adding to your training. You'll be at the training center in the victors tower at 4am." The training center in the victors tower is where all the tributes train the week before games, then they come to her center in the castle for scores. She owns both. It's not that she doesn't like her but Katniss has never met Brutus, doesn't really know Enobaria..

"You said a victor vanished the same time the trainers did, don't you think it might not be a good idea to involve yourself with me?" She can see her shark like teeth when she smiles.

"Even if they knew about this, those little roaches couldn't hold a candle to me and Brutus. That's the problem, the president gave the two of you trainers when he could have given you champions. We'll whip you into shape."

She wants to die. There's no way district two trains like this everyday. Her cousin definitely isn't. Training with Gold and Diamond consist of target practice with her bow, cardio, and than they finish with an hour of survival skills. She's been shooting since she was eight but they still don't look impressed with her abilities, even after she hits every target in the head or chest. "Why are you looking? The targets aren't moving and you're stopping to aim? Shoot dammit!" She misses the next target. She's scared Brutus is going to punch her. "This is pathetic, what if that dummy was running at you, would you ask them to stop so you could notch your arrow and aim? This needs to be second nature. We'll come back to this, pick up the throwing knifes."

Enobaria takes her to the hall and tells her they're going to rearrange the room. In two minutes she needs to kick the door in and throw the knifes at all the dummies. When two minutes pass she does as she's been instructed and kicks the door in, rolling in after and releasing a knife at each dummy and also launching one at Brutus by mistake. She hit one of the six target in the leg but the knife doesn't even stick. Brutus ignores the knife that hits the ground three feet from him. "Better, but you need to move faster. Aim will come over time, for now work on throwing two knifes at each dummy. Even if you miss in real life the target will most likely be too stunned from shock to continue attacking. You can go back and finish them off then."

In the end she spends three hours picking up and throwing every weapon known to mankind without pause. She wasn't good with any of them but her new trainers still seemed pleased.

Shower, lessons, training with Gold and Diamond. She has to keep reflecting questions about bloody noses and why she suddenly can't hit any of her damn targets.

Sleep has never felt so good.

The next day goes mostly the same but at one point Brutus makes her run until she throws up. 18 minutes. She would have stopped sooner but he had been chasing her with the threat of, 'If you stop before you vomit i'll beat you into the hospital'. She's never been treated this way before, wouldn't have allowed it. She wouldn't have chosen Brutus as one of her victors if she was alive during the 49th games. She's still glad he's here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors


	13. Box Of Hair Pins

She finds out that running with Brutus is a weekly activity. Enobaria tells her its his way of gauging her endurance progress, she's pretty sure he just likes scaring her.

She's been training with them everyday for a little over a month. Previous training had consisted of four to five days a week with weekends off, there's a clear difference between tribute trainers and victors. She's now hitting half her targets at every training exercise, they're not killing hits but they stick. Brutus claps her on the shoulder when she impresses him. It nearly knocks her into the floor.

Last week they had introduced her to swords and when she dropped one they taped one to each of her hands. They didn't remove them until the next mornings training and she had to cancel everything else planned for the day, including bathing. She didn't drop another sword.

She's up to learning three weapons at this point, before long she'll have a basic understanding of everything imaginable. It's exhilarating. Katniss has never been stronger. Last week she'd run for 41 minutes before loosing her stomach.

The targets move today. They move in a strait line, to the left, to the right, forward. When she figures out she needs to shoot where they're headed and not where they are things start picking up. The faster the targets, the farther her aim. She hits as many as she would if they were stationary.

"Tomorrow bring your mutt." Why would he want Slyth here? Knows from experience that they don't get along. "You have it so you might as well use it, try riding its back. Saw the district one girly doin' it from outside the castle a while back." Gold rode Slyth? Gold barely likes Slyth. It's a good idea anyway.

Pelenos steps in during her history lesson with some history artifacts. He's brought her two marble statues and a box of beautiful hair pins made with pearls and gems. Ramon sees himself out.

"Will you be staying for coffee? I can have some snacks brought in."

"I thought you preferred tea? No no, anyway, I must be running out."

She'd been needing to talk to him. "I was going to sent you an invitation but since you're here, next months castle party. I've been so busy lately I haven't made it out much. I'm trying to broaden my image, so i'm making time to go. I'd love to see you there?" He promises to make an appearance and she pecks his lips as he leaves.

She hates that she can't quite bring herself to hate him.

When Ramon returns he brings her family history books. She's seen them all before but it's never bad to brush up, just in case she needs to reference something for an interview, besides Ramon is her favorite teacher so she can't say no to him.

Her great grandfather and great grandmother sitting at matching desks while her grandfather sits in front of the camera on the floor, all dashing with their matching blond hair and blue eyes. Not even at four does Coriolanus smile. The desks have been removed and thrones take there place, her grandfather sits two feet from her smiling grandmother. She's expecting and the glow is obvious.

Her family takes a photo yearly. Recently they've moved to a yearly painting, they both set aside a whole day for the painter to capture the years growth. "Roman, this photo isn't dated for the year my grandmother gave birth to my mother.." This must be her uncles pregnancy, the one no one has ever mentioned to her.

"Ah, this is the year your grandmother miscarried. A baby boy. Your grandfather was always very private with the children of the family, he didn't address the accident for six years. Your mother was introduced one year later, when she was six. It'd be a different world today had the child lived." It seems she's not been the only one left in the dark.

She can't help drawing similarities between the two moments. A hidden uncle and a loved mother, a hidden cousin and her. Her grandfather had hidden them all from the world originally. All but her. She want's to know the deciding factor for who is and is not placed in the public's eye. Is her uncle still alive and if so where has he been all these years?

The next photo skips seven years. Strange. The thrones are five feet apart now, her six year old mother sits at her grandfathers feet. Her grandmother doesn't smile. The next three years have similar photos, after that there's only one throne. One king. One princess. "Ramon, were no photo's taken between my grandmothers miscarriage and my mothers announcement?"

"No little princess, an annual photo has been taken every year since the new age. Your mother most likely won't be shown in the previous photo's though, her arrival hadn't been announced yet." Katniss asks him to try and find them anyway.

She finishes the rest of her lessons, math and science, technology and investing, and music and art. When she goes to training with district one she asks them to get moving targets. Gold gives her the side eye, Katniss is planning to tell her about her secret training tonight. Gold is her only real ally right now and it wouldn't hurt to have a professional to spar with.

"We need to talk more about Pelenos, we still haven't found a solution and I know you've got some ideas that you're not sharing." Gold doesn't know about her relationship with Pelenos, how close they've always been.

"That's not what I wanted to tell you, trust me I have a plan for taking care of him... I've been training with some of the district two victors for a little over a month." She tells her about the training, Gold says it sounds inhumane. It feels inhumane most of the time. She even breaks the news about her new cousin who seems to be gunning for the throne and kneed her in the face, how she hasn't heard from or of him since. Gold tells her she'll look into the trainers, 'the prince may be under lock and key but surely I can find a hint about their whereabouts'. It's smart.

Two weeks pass. 50lbs get added on her back while she runs. 24 minutes.

The party is a week away. Cinna gives her a strange look when she tells him he doesn't have to escort her there. He's never been officially asked to escort her but it's more of their tradition, arrive late, break off and drink, leave early, and order drinks and sweets to her room where they eventually sleep off the night.

The day before the Party she skips all her lessons and training. She told Enobaria but ran from the room before Brutus had the chance to arrive. She's hitting almost every target now, can hold a sword in each hand, throw knifes, and shoots her bow with precision. They're speeding up the targets next week and adding in hand to hand combat, it bothers her that she never manages to finish a goal before a bigger one is given to her. One step forward two steps back, it's an endless cycle or never being good enough.

She arrives earlier than usual to the party. Left Slyth behind. Pelenos had told her when he would be able to make it and she wanted to meet him, he waits for her at the door instead.

Her dress is something that was once known as old Hollywood style. Short and sweet, it wraps around her neck and comes down in two strips to cover her chest attaching at the waist. Her back and arms are open. Her hair is in a messy style on her head with the pearl pins he'd given her. she wears long socks peachy orange socks without shoes. The clothes look beautiful but she wishes they were something else. She looks like a small flame.

He spins with her when she leaps into his arms. The victors are openly staring at them, this isn't how she behaves in public, isn't how she behaves in private, isn't how she behaves with anyone but Pelenos. She sees Cinna with them. Brutus looks like he's attended just to yell at her.

"ORANGE! You're wearing O-rhaaan-GE!"

They dance, she dances around him so he doesn't step on her feet. He brings her drink after drink, while they talk and laugh off to the side. Usually when they're together is the only time Katniss can be free to enjoy herself without fear of repercussions, but she's finding it hard to do that knowing what she's got planned for the evening. She needs a cause for her grandfather to terminate this man, she's viewed as family, and that's what she's come for tonight. Thirteen is only a year younger then fourteen after all..

She figures it's about time to start putting an end to the worst night of her life, so she asks Pelenos to bring her something strong and jokingly tells him to carry her off to bed if she passes out.

She'd wondered if she'd been wrong to accept the sickly woman's stories without evidence but she sees the way Pelenos watches her, twirls strands of her hair, and trails his hands up when he fixes her stocking. She'll just have to make a cause. The victors can do this, why can't she?

The snakebite he brings her tastes strange. It's okay if he's drugged it. Better if he has.

"Let's take a stroll through the rose gardens before bed tonight princess, they're always locked off at night but I have a key so we can be alone." She takes his hand as they leave through the doors but she doesn't remember going down the steps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors


	14. Hate The Color Orange

-Cinna-

He'd found it strange when the princess had visited him with the request for an orange dress, but girls her age go through phases. The dress wasn't even too far off from her normal attire it was just, well, orange. He'd even asked her what brought about her new taste as he'd poured them both a glass and set some music up in the shop. His little princess had said that it had been recommended to her but not to worry because it'd only be a one time use, 'besides' she told him 'you've always told me I remind you more of a little flame'.

So he'd made it for her along with a few other pieces she could add in and use with her regular clothes.

He'd found it strange when the princess had arrived for the final fitting and had told him he wouldn't need to accompany her to the party, but girls her age tend to start having eyes for boys. It made sense for girls her age to dress up and try to impress their crushes. If she didn't want anyone to see them together and think he was sitting her, he'd understand.

So he had come early on his own and taken a seat next to Haymitch.

Recently more and more of the victors were coming to these parties, the ones that weren't mandatory, and staying longer in the capitol. Haymitch would normally never be a face he'd see, outside of game times anyway. "Not breathing the princesses second hand air tonight?" The man was a lot of bark and little bite.

"No the princess told me my presence wouldn't be needed this evening."

That's the problem. The princess wasn't a normal girl her age.

"I didn't think you went to gatherings without her." He enjoys Haymitch, would probably even call him a friend. He likes his sharp mind.

"I don't. The princess will be coming later tonight. She's been acting strange with regards to everything about this evening so I wanted to come and keep an eye on her." Some of the other victors have closed in and been listening to their conversation. He doesn't mind, they made it obvious enough that he could change topics if he'd wanted, he doesn't feel like they're intruding.

"She skipped our lesson today."

"I didn't know the princess was training with district two." From the look on her district one trainers face he hadn't known either.

"She skipped my lessons too."

It doesn't really surprise him that the princess kept all this from them, he knows she does it for their protection. She's too young to be worried about the politics of others, he thinks. He hides things from her for her protection too.

They've got a whole crew around them now. Brutus, and the twins, Finnick, Annie, Johanna, and the trainer from one who's named after a gem... or was his name Gem? Cinna doesn't remember. Rahella and Mags are not far away talking to Wiress and Beetee. "Looks like your girls here, I see what you mean.."

She's too early, this isn't something she'd do. She wouldn't do anything she'd done tonight, and she'd asked him to make the dress two months ago, she's planning something.

Suddenly she's jumping into the arms of one Pelenos Parid. "What the fuck is she wearing? Did you make that ugly ass thing for her? Fuck I thought trees were bad enough, and that guy with the princess.. that's not normal, that can't even be normal in this weird ass place, with you weird ass people."

He's picking her up and spinner her around. Pecks her lips in a typical capitol greeting. Cinna feels like he should pick his jaw up off the ground. The victors should probably do the same.

He brings her a drink and she downs it before taking his too. Haymitch and Johanna drink with them. Cinna watches her down his glass before tossing it to an avox that's passing by. This isn't her, she's never been so flippant.

They dance and laugh in the middle of the floor. He picks her up, she kisses his cheek. Finnick takes Annie to dance on the balcony.

Cinna just realizes that the princess didn't bring her loyal mutt with her. At one point Gloss goes over and tries to interrupt the two for a dance but the princess shoos him away without a glance.

He pulls her sock up.

Gold has come in and is talking with her district partner. She comes to visit him, but when she follows his eyes and see the princess sitting in Pelenos's lap she drops her glass. He can see why she'd have that reaction, everything is so bazaar.

"What the fuck is she doing with him? Gloss! Why is she over there?" She's not yelling but she's not far off, she's gotten the attention of the victors milling around as well as some of the closer guests. Cinna isn't sure why she'd asked Gloss instead of him but the large man is trying to quite her down regardless. Lovers? Doesn't look like it.

"That man is Pelenos. He's a well known face around the castle, I assumed you would have seen him, he's a partner to the president and I do believe he's the princesses god father."

"What do you mean god father? She knows him? Oh My God, she's trying to... Cinna you have a car, right?" "I have access to one of the cars in the next building over." What is going on? "I need it! You can't let the princess out of your sight, do you understand? She can't leave here."

He'd given her the lock. Whatever had been bugging him all night she obviously knew more about. Johanna had even gone with her.

The princess has two more drinks as they sit chatting.

He gets up and walks away at the same time a drunk woman stumbles into Cinna. She spills her drink all over his top and when he falls over he takes Haymitch with him. When they looks up the princess is gone.

They'd all been keeping watch of her since Gold left, but had lost track of her as the commotion and the fall took their attention.

He and Haymitch leave to get 'cleaned up'. Gloss had offered to come as well as a few of the others but they didn't need the commotion, after all who wouldn't notice all the victors in a room standing and leaving together in the middle of a party hosted by the royal family. They're now running through halls, checking doors and windows. Haymitch sees Ridmen cutting through the courtyard towards the garden and seeing as he hadn't attended the party they both agree that where ever he's headed they should be following.

Haymitch goes around the building. He won't make it there in time, the castle is too large. Cinna heads back towards the ball room.

There are two balconies connected to the ball room if you head up the stairs along the walls. Few people wander up here during gathering. Even though the view is great it's secluded and the small aisle along the walls are narrow and hard to fit through. Both the balconies have large curtains pulled back to the sides where you can let down for privacy, both overlook the gardens from different vantage points.

The first one is empty and he doesn't see anyone when he looks out. Finnick and Annie are still on the second balcony talking.

When he release the curtains Finnick sends her back down with instructions to stay with Mags. "What's going on?"

He can't see anyone in the gardens from here either. What if they'd been wrong and Ridmen wasn't headed to the garden after all? He's about to head back when they hear the sound of metal screeching.

Pelenos is coming through the gate, and he's carrying the princess. "What is going on?"

He lays her next to a white rose bush in full bloom. The roses stay in full bloom year round at the palace, it's part of their technological advancements. "I don't know." He knows what's going on when Pelenos starts pulling the princesses socks off, starts pushing her dress up.

Finnick knows too. He stands in front of the exit. If he wants to leave Cinna can't stop him, his muscles aren't for show. He's climbing over the railing when a gun sounds. Ridmen is there. Gun at Pelenos's chest, from this distance they can't hear what's being said but after a few moments that feel like an eternity Pelenos backs away and Ridmen carries the princess off.

He hates the color orange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors


	15. Just As Much Her Throne

She wasn't in as much pain as she'd expected, she wasn't in any pain actually. She was in bed, fully clothed, fully covered.

Mr. Ridmen was here with her, had pulled over a chair from the sitting area and was using the side of her bed as a table to eat an omelette. He didn't look impressed with her.

"Brilliant plan. What were you expecting to achieve with all of that anyway?" She asks what he's been doing here but the look he gives her is even less impressed, so she tells him. Katniss tells him about how she'd found out about Pelenos from the sickly woman she'd killed in the cellar. Tells him about how even though they'd tried, she and Gold couldn't find a single way to put an end to it without some form of reproductions or questions coming up. She tell him how her grandfather wouldn't get rid of the man without some type of explanation and because she didn't have one she'd needed to make one. Since she'd found out about his involvement with younger woman she's thought, 'the victors do it, why not her', then her grandfather would have to get rid of the man.

"Have you thought about why the victors go along with all this, that maybe they didn't have a choice. You have a choice and this is the first one you make? You were drugged, if I hadn't arrived when I did what do you think would have happened? Do you remember anything from last night? No? It would have been your word against his. How long did you consider all this? Did you truly think of every last option before settling or did you just pass over the hard ones? You're acting like a child."

His words hurt, they make her question herself. "I am a child!" She's never considered herself one but she doesn't have anything else to fight back with.

"NO! You are the princess, you do not get the luxury of being a child."

He finishes his omelette and moves the plate and chair back to the table. He even sighs and rubs his eyes before turning back, she feels pathetic. "The night wasn't a complete loss at least. Your resolve is good, i'm impressed, you just can't be putting yourself in these situations anymore. You're not a pawn, you're a princess. You'll have to start over of course, find a new strategy. In the end you did manage to save one of your 'pets'," He says the word with so much sarcasm that she knows he doesn't see them as such. "Finnick Odair and Cinna saw the whole thing."

Panic fills her. She tries to sit up but Mr. Ridmen has a hand on her shoulder pushing her back. "They were far enough away, they didn't hear anything. I even spoke to Pelenos on your behalf. He can't hold Finnick's loved ones over his head while the man has his own blackmail, even if he doesn't know he has any. No more suitors. Finnick must stay in the capitol so not to bring attention from your grandfather but starting now he will have no more suitors. He's been left in the dark over it all, tell him if you wish. The rest of them are open for business but I expect you will be finding a new solution for that soon."

"Did you know I'm second in line for the throne?" Mr. Ridmen is always looking down on people, perhaps that's why the looks he gives her make her feel less than an inch tall.

"Of course you are, second after President Snow." So even he doesn't know about Pestilent.

She can trust him, whatever he's after, whatever he's planned is another days issue. For now she had been wrong about two men, she'd thought of Pelenos like family when he was an enemy. She'd thought of Mr. Ridmen as an enemy when every day that passes he proves more and more that he's a friend. "No, I mean second after that. I have a cousin." She's gotten his undivided attention. He saved Finnick she can give him this. "His name is Pestilent. His father was my uncle... i'm not sure if he's still alive or not, I might be third in line. Anyway. My grandmother never miscarried her first child, my grandfather just hid them both away. Pestilent showed up in the castle a while back and broke my nose. Threatened me." She also tells him about his district two trainers, doesn't mention her own, and the mutt he'd brought.

"I'll look into it."

When he leaves he tells her to make sure and eat something and that she missed her training this morning. Looks like she didn't have to tell him. Enobaria and Brutus are going to kill her.

She's missed half her lessons at this point so what's another three? The training center is empty and cool, it's everything she needs right now.

There's an auto combat simulator on one side of the room, she's used it a few times despite her typical floor training. She ups the level to five, she's gone up to a four with district two so she hopes the added anger she's feeling will compensate for the extra level.

She hits the first two targets that come at her but has to start over when she gets tackled from behind. Katniss ends up starting over three more times in the next twenty minutes before switching to her bow. She almost passes the next simulator. Ups the level to six, struggles for another hour. Back to five and back to knifes. Passes.

She keeps going as hours pass by, doesn't notice Diamond and Gold enter. In total she's passed three level five simulators and lost about three dozen. Hasn't passed a single level six. "I see district two has been teaching you throwing knifes." She looses this simulator too.

They talk about progress from here on out and she assures them she want's to continue lessons with them. She wants to focus on the bow even when she's being taught all these other skills. When Diamond starts preparing for a late session she and Gold discuss all that had transpired last night. Katniss apologizes and thanks her all while crying in her hair, promises to never try something like that again. Despite the fact she didn't accomplish much with the outcome of the night she's glad it fell through.

Katniss brings coffee when she goes to the victors tower at 4am. Brutus hits her so hard he knocks out a tooth, thankfully it wasn't permanent. She runs for 43 minutes with the weights on. He scarier than usual and she promises herself to never skip another session with these two.

Her grandfather is gone for a week and has once again left her in charge. She has four meetings.

At night she watches Finnicks room to make sure Pelenos is keeping his word. Finnick is always there, each day looking just a little more confused. At one point he actually tears the room apart searching for something before he calls Mags and Annie to triple check that they're okay. He has no idea Pelenos was the mastermind behind his torture.

She attends a party almost three months later for all of ten minutes. The games are a month away now so conversation flows with topics of tributes and arenas and parades. The tributes will be called in three weeks. Cinna and Slyth wait for her at the door. He know's she won't take long, didn't really even want to come.

Finnick drops Annie's hand when he sees her. She asks him to dance, he's still too tall.

When the song starts she steps on his feet and puts her hand on his upper arm even though she can reach his shoulder now. His hands don't shake now. When the song is over she motions him down so she can reach his ear. "If there's something you don't like here you should tell me, I can't change anything if I don't know it's happening." She leaves him in the middle of the dance floor. When she's almost to the door she calls back to him. "You look better with a full nights sleep."

Cinna crawls in her bed and they order paints with their food and drinks. She paints her mutts, it's not good. He paints a mockingjay flying through fire and smoke. "It's you, a beautiful bird that wasn't supposed to exist flying through fire in a world of snow." It's perfect. When they fall asleep Dolly will take all the glasses and plates away, when she sees the painting she'll smile.

Last year she'd stood next to the throne with one hand on the back, looking over her shoulder. Today when she'd went for their annual portrait he'd already been there, all white as usual, sitting with a glass of red wine in one hand. Her own dress was high on her neck, bare on her arms, and drug on the floor with a massive skirt When she sits down and crosses her legs it lifts up to her ankles. Portraits were one of the rare moments outside of training that she bothers with shoes, today she doesn't bother. Her hair was up, leaving her face and lace eye mask on show. She's been sitting here for six hours.

The next morning she sees the video clip being played across the world for the first time. She sees herself walk in and pour her own red wine into a stemless glass, before walking over and sitting on the arm of the president's throne. She'd wanted to show the world it was just as much her throne as it was his. She watches herself lean over and snatch the crown off his head before placing it on her own. She hadn't noticed yesterday but her grandfather had smiled at her, it was something she'd never seen before. A photographer had actually dropped his camera, she thinks it had more to do with her performance than his response though. This years portrait was the best yet. She hopes wherever he was, Pestilent sees this.

She clicks through the victors homes to see their responses. She doesn't get to catch most of them but she enjoys the few she sees, Johanna laughing so hard water comes out of her nose, Gloss smiles while his sister sleeps on his lap, Finnick starring at the screen with his lips parted, before playing the whole thing over. Haymitch's response is what warms her heart though, a simple 'nice job sweetheart'.

It's been two weeks since she had danced with Finnick. It's nearing 2am when she makes it back to her room, showers and changes into her nightgown. Katniss flips through the screen on her holo. Checks on all her victors. Finnick is sitting on the edge of his bed, head in hands, crying. She'd noticed his sleepless nights the past week but he hadn't been called out at all so she'd ignored it.

Cinna drops her off at The Advantage by 2:30.

She takes a back entrance into the basement, flips off Mr. Ridmen's screens, and takes his hidden elevator to the top floor. He doesn't even acknowledge her.

Thankfully it's unlocked because she'd have felt pretty dumb having to go back and ask for keys.

His head shoots up when she enters, he's not crying anymore. The lights are dimmed and she doesn't want to trip over anything, but his loft is typically clean.. she thinks.

She climbs into his bed, pulls him up next to her, and throws the sheets over them both. He's calmed down now. "Princess..?"

She makes him lay his head on her chest. "Go to sleep."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors


	16. Flips Her Hand Upside Down

She'd missed her training again. It was obvious this 4am scheduling wasn't working in her favor. She'd either miss the lesson in general and go and get beat up for hours at a time.

Last night Finnick had been asleep within minutes, snoring softly into her neck. Katniss figures it was a combination of sharing strange woman's beds most of his life as well as a lack of sleep over the past few days.

It had been strange seeing him cry. She's seen it once before but that had felt like a lifetime ago, and there had been reasoning then.

She'd quickly realized she'd made a huge mistake by laying him on top of her. He was heavy, suffocatingly heavy.

He'd held both her wrists down, one by her waist and the other next to her head, when she'd tried to move out from under him in the night. It must have been the instincts from his games kicking in because he didn't even wake up, but his grip had tightened when she wiggled around. She currently had large bruising from Brutus grabbing and tossing her around the training room, so she didn't want to push it. His skin felt like it was boiling, how he could be comfortable running that hot. Eventually she'd managed to settle down and get comfortable.

She was up before him too. So she'd kept her eye's closed and rested her mind until he woke up. Finnick was groggy for a moment before he practically flung himself from her, escaping to the bathroom. That's when she'd fled. It'd seemed reasonable to comfort him during the night, now it just seemed strange.

Ramon brings another book to their lesson, it's a different copy of her family's portrait history. Katniss forgot that she'd asked him to look for one. "I'm sorry it took me so long, princess. Thankfully my late wife had been childhood friends with the old royal photographer. When I called him with the request he said he'd give his copies away in exchange for your autograph... I hope you don't mind that I agreed on your behalf." Assumption like this would bother her if it was anyone else but this was Ramon, her beloved history instructor. She pecks his weathered cheek in assurance. "He also told me that there would be quite a few extra copies. He'd been a yearly photographer so he'd taken more than just the annual photos."

She sees quite a few extras as she flips through pages. Her five year old grandfather climbing into his fathers chair unattended, her grandparents marriage with only her grandmother smiling, her mother making flower crowns, the first year the king had removed her grandmothers throne.

She flips to the front where the annual photos were. They had changed from pictures to paintings the year she was born. The painting from the 59th year where her grandfather had held her in his arms and gazed down at her, it felt gentle. She hadn't seen this one before either. Wanders how the photographer got a hold of all the newer memories when he'd already left his position the year prior. Her grandfather holds her the next three years, when she's four she sits in the throne by herself while he stands behind her. After five she stands on her own.

Ramon had been right, her mother hadn't been in the photos before her announcement. She flips from the 27th year to the 34th year. Then does it again, and again, and again. Something's wrong with all of them. Her grandmother had given birth to her uncle just after the photo taken the 27th year and then to her mother almost exactly one year later after the 28th. So why wasn't she pregnant in the 28th photo. She would have been between seven and eight months along at the time so it's not like she wouldn't be showing.. she just, wasn't pregnant.

She looks back though the extras, her grandmother never touching her mother, never holing her. They'd looked almost identical, beautiful blonds with blue eyes, no one would have ever questioned it. She's not her daughter. This woman isn't her grandmother. "Ramon can I have this book?"

The tributes are called. Districts one and two provide their own volunteers to add to her selection. District seven also has a volunteer, strange. Rain from district nine will be her victor.

All victors have returned to the capitol for the yearly games. She sends Annie candies shaped like fish. Rain is brilliant in his interview with Caesar, he charms the citizens with stories of helping his mother in the gardens and promises to send Caesar some fresh produce if he makes it home. He's strong and scored an eight during training.

He manages to get to and from the cornucopia with only some bruises, he even got a sword. It's a good fit with his strength. She sends him water before she retires for the evening, leaving Dolly to watch the screens.

She spends half an hour flipping through the photography photos in her album before she leaves to make herself some spiced honey milk. She misses Gale. She'll have to badger Cinna about him tomorrow.

She's staying in the watchtower for the games this year. There's a monitor to the games, waiting to be powered up, in every room. It lets her keep better track of the games not having to go back and forth from the castle, so she's not surprised to run across a roomful of victors in the open kitchens. She ignores how quite the room gets, ignores the stares.

It seems the rest of them had similar thoughts to rest for the night and refresh. Games tended to get rather boring in the evenings when everyone settled for bed. She'd often auto set the to screens to switch between tributes based on who's heart rate was highest or ending.

Cashmere gets off the counter when she reaches for a glass. Annie pours honey for her when the milk is heated. She's taking her first sip getting ready to leave when Dolly is at the door clapping for her attention.

"What's wrong?" She'd just sent him water, he had been settling down, surely none of his cuts could be infected so quickly.

Sign language is nearly extinct now but she'd once been gifted books about multiple old languages and had read them each night with her avox's. They now knew enough to pass small messages back and forth in public. She flips her hand upside down. Dead. "What? I was there less than an hour ago and everything was fine. What happened?"

Rain was dead. She'd had everything planned, he was stronger then the rest. Older than all of them. She'd send him food to keep him strong and he'd already found a weapon. He should have only had to fight two or three wounded tributes during the final days. He was supposed to be the Rain in the desert.

Thumb holding down the ring finger, seven. Grabbing motion in front of forehead, boy. "He killed him? Is his body here yet?" Three fingers moving in a pinching motion, no. "How far out is the ship?"

Another pinching motion, followed by pointer fingers signalling towards her face. Not coming. Something's wrong, Dolly looks like she's about to faint. "Dolly, what happened."

Tears are falling down her face and she's making this horrible noise somewhere between her throat and nose. A hand shaped like a claw moving towards her mouth.. He ate him.

Suddenly her holo is going wild, game planners and powerful citizens all trying to get a hold of her all at once.

"Sweetheart is something wrong? Should we go back to the mentors room?" She doesn't respond to Haymitch, ignores his pet name. She has bigger problems right now.

"Dolly, was it broadcasted?" No response. "DOLLY! Was it broadcasted out!" The victors in the room all show varying levels of panic and anxiety. "Holo, power on the screen to administrator mode. Somebody get Annie out of here." Mags takes her.

She flicks the screen over. The male from district seven is chewing on Rains chest. Everyone makes noises of distress, even Brutus seems bothered by the image. Rahella flees the room. This isn't good.

When she ask's Johanna what's going on with her tribute she just shakes her head.

She picks up a call from Mr. Ridmen. "We have a problem, the citizens are freaking out and there's talk of rebellion in the districts. You need to do something now!" He disconnects himself when she doesn't respond.

This isn't the same as Enobaria ripping out an opponents throat. She couldn't even spin it that way if she wanted to.

Caesar calls her to tell her he's going on air in 45 minutes and needs to know what to say. Her grandfather has left the call up to her.

She puts a gun on him from the screen.

Plutarch Heavensbee's name lights up her holo, 'get him off the broadcast' he tells her. I gets her thinking, it'll look to much like a cover up. She knows what she's going to have to do.

The gun powers down. She calls Cinna, wakes him up. "I need a dress, now. How fast can you get to the game building?"

"30 minutes."

"Be here in 20."

Katniss tells the control room to keep the cameras on him. Orders them to broadcast any death from any tribute, no matter who kills them or how. "We can't take him out with natural disasters or an accident, it'd be too obvious. For now another tribute is going to have to kill him, and as far as anyone is concerned this is completely normal. Whoever takes him out will be the next victor, we'll spin them as the hero."

"Johanna, get dressed, you heard Caesar. We're going on air in 45."

They prerecord the short interview three times before they get something they can use. Johanna keeps saying the wrong things. Finally they get a similar point across. Johanna is thrilled to have a tribute causing such excitement and hopes to bring out a victor this year. Katniss is pleased the games are progressing well once again. Everything is normal.

When she gets back to the control room she changes the arena to permanent darkness. She gets pieces of Rain back the next morning.

Johanna gives all her donated funds to other mentors.

The monster kills and eats six more tributes over the next four days. District eight has a riot in the street. Four more days pass, two more meals, one of them is his district partner. All the careers are dead. There are only two other tributes. If he makes it to the final two she's going to have to kill him, it will contradict all the statements she's made over the past week but it's better than letting him out in the open. The boy from four and the boy from eleven are left with him. She sends them both supplies daily.

The boy from eleven is stout, dark skin and chocolate eyes, his name is Trender. He's seventeen. The boy from four arrives in time to watch his face get eaten off. His name is Ruve and he's sixteen. He tackles the monster from seven. She can't shoot the beast when they're rolling across the ground with each other. Bite. Scream. Bite. Bite. Canon.

She can't tell who the canon belongs to.

Ruve, pushes the body off himself. Thank god. Johanna makes sobbing laughing noises. The rest of the mentors are in the mentor viewing room, but she'd brought Johanna back to the hallway room in the castle with her. She didn't want to be alone. "Fuck, I did not want to ride back to district seven with chewy."

She visits Ruve in the medical center the next morning. Finnick and Mags are there with two other victors from four she's never met. Ruve has three bite marks on his throat and collarbone, she kisses him on the mouth and whispers in his ear to let her know if he ever needs anything, anything at all. He wishes her a happy birthday when she's walking out.

She's glad her victor lost, she couldn't have loved Rain nearly as much as she loves Ruve in this moment.

The victors party is set for three days.

Her grandfather watches her from the balcony.

Ruve looks dashing. Chocolate brown hair and sky blue eyes. They dance together all night. His skin isn't as warm as Finnick's. Cinna has to come and get her when all the guests have left and it's just them and the watching victors.

She flips though more pictures with Cinna in her room. He pulls a picture out from a small slit in the front cover.

It's a pretty red head laying in a hospital bed, she's just given birth and is holding the newborn baby in her arms. Her grandfather is peering over her shoulder at the child. This is her mother, this is her grandmother.

Katniss flips the photo over to read the back. "Year 28, The birth of Princess Zahlan. King Coriolanus Snow and Mags Flanagan, victor of the 11th games."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors


	17. Open The Door to Heaven or Hell

t'd been four months since Katniss found out the truth about her real grandmother. She still can't fathom how her grandfather, who viewed people from the districts on the same level as rats, had been involved with a victor. Nor did she know what she should do with the knowledge.

Mags returned to district four the day after the victors party, taking Ruve with her. The victory tour would be in two months, leaving Katniss with two months to make a decision about what to do with the photo when she next saw Mags, everyone from four would be attending in celebration.

Enobaria had left a month ago, back to her district, leaving Brutus to push her harder than ever. Now she uses level seven when she practices in the simulator and can wield six weapons in total, including a whip.

The 74th games are still unplanned and she hasn't been feeling very motivated to change that.

Rioting in the districts is getting worse by the day, her grandfather has already sent extra peacekeepers to watch over half the populace. They have the tribute from last years district seven to thank for that, it's the sole fuel the districts have for their anger that the games are biased and immoral.

Cinna still won't tell her where Gale is. She's worried he may get caught up in the riots. Gale had been considered a rebel when he had arrived, and he'd never changed his views, he was now just a rebel she cared for deeply.

Katniss thinks Plutarch Heavensbee might be a traitor, but she needs certainty before she takes it the her grandfather. Plutarch has a lot of one on one meetings with him and if she's wrong it could strain the relationship he has with the royal family.

She hasn't found a way to put an end to the prostitution ring under Pelenos. Last week he brought her the cannibals I-teeth on a black bracelet. The teeth mounted to the side of her wrist with small rubies, to replicate dripping blood, as though the wearer had been bitten.

One night as she watches the 102nd floor of the Advantage, to make sure the twins arrive home safe, she sees Cashmere collapse on the sofa. Rope burns cover her wrists, there is a cut on her forehead, and finger prints covering her throat. When she strips her shirt, the whole left side of her chest is purple. Pelenos will be dead by the end of the week, she swears it. Gloss gently cleans her wounds while she sleeps, his face portraying murder. She calls and lets him know this will be the last time.

Katniss thinks maybe she could bribe Pelenos to put a stop to his business, they've always been close and he's always heeded her wishes, but that would drastically cut down on his cash flow and she doubts he'd say yes. She'd also have to tell him how she'd come about the knowledge and that's the last things she needs to air.

Brutus puts 85lbs on her back, she runs for 33 minutes. They practice spear throwing. He nearly knocks her to the ground with a 'well done' clap on the back.

Ruve calls one evening to wish her a good night. A few hour's later she calls Brutus to cancel their morning training while Cinna drives her back to the Advantage to comfort a tired looking Finnick. She's found that Brutus is much more understanding when being consulted about his time. He'd been missing Enobaria. "Pick me up at seven."

Katniss contemplates using the original idea of burying his body in the dead world. The questions wouldn't last long once the game's had started and the capitol was preoccupied with where to send their money, but she'd have no way to explain his disappearance during the time of her departure to her grandfather.

Mr. Ridmen shuts off the screens when she heads for the elevator. He asks her if she's found the solution to her 'orange issue', the doors close signalling her answer. It bothers her that he'd said 'The' solution, as if there had only ever been one option all along.

Finnick isn't as put off by her presence today. He moves to the bed and pulls the covers aside for her to crawl in first. She notes that he puts her towards the wall while he sleeps closer to the door.

She pushes him off when he lays his head on her chest, and Finnick puts all the space of the mattress between them in an instant. Katniss feels powerful. "That's rude you know. You're extremely heavy, are you trying to crush me?" She ends up laying her head on his chest.

Thinking back she's glad her plan failed but it would have done a world of good for her if her grandfather had disposed of Pelenos in her stead. How can her grandfather get rid of people with such ease and no backlash anyway? Oh.

Finnick mentions her suddenly giddy mood but she just rubs his hair and scalp with her nails and tell him to sleep. She notices his toned arms wrapped around her sides and chest pressed to her face more, now that it's not crushing her, understands why woman would pay tens of thousands to lay with him for a night. It's not much money but she gets the privilege just by blood and birth right. A slightly diluted blood and birth line. Diluted by his mentor.

He rolls over on her in the night anyway.

In the morning he orders them food. He eats four plates, she has two eggs poached with fruit. Finnick looks at her plate with amusement. "Not hungry?" She wants to ask him about Mags, she doesn't. He wants to ask her about Ruve, he doesn't.

When she goes to leave he looks lost, nodding and dropping his head for her departure. "What is it?"

"I.. I just don't know what to do with myself. No one has mentioned if could leave and I don't have much to do with my days when there aren't a lot of other victors in the capitol.." She mentions bringing Annie to fill his time but he quickly assures her he wouldn't want to move her from her home, and that he couldn't give her the attention Mags can away from the capitol cameras. "I shouldn't complain princess, forgive me."

"My lessons start in less than an hour and Cinna is waiting with the car. Get dressed." It's not something she does often, but watching the panic on someones face when she starts handing out orders is something she'll never stop enjoying.

Cinna doesn't mention the extra body. He does make a point of enjoying the view. Finnick seems to be in high spirits, making wiggly eye's back.

The ride is smooth and full of the men's chatter. Katniss receives a call from her grandfather as soon as the car parks, informing her that he will be unattainable and that she's to receive guests and meetings in his place for the remainder of the month. She's never taken on her grandfathers duties for such a long amount of time and she still hasn't progressed her next games, but as always she will make do.

Cinna quietly informs Finnick that this is nothing new and there's nothing to worry about. "The princess has cared for the nation dozens of times in her grandfathers stead."

Her reading lesson finishes late, her instructor had spent the better part of their time ogling Finnick. The lesson plan had been switched, upon his arrival, to renaissance literary works depicting conversations between death and his victims. Her works had been handed to her in an array of languages. Finnick was given two poems in English, due to her instructor Ms. Pearson being a huge fan of his victory skill poems.

Victory skills had come to fruition soon after her grandfather had taken power. All victors were mandated to take on at least one skill from a pre-approved list. It had started out as mostly a way for her grandfather to show the world that the games had brought life to the victors and that they left enjoying that life to its fullest. The new victor would pick a skill, practice for a few weeks and then forget about it from then on. Katniss had seen to push the practice more since witnessing one of Annie's episodes soon after returning to her new home, now it was a way for them to get their minds off life. Annie and Mags knit together almost every night.

Ms. Pearson smiles and claps at Finnick's 'perfect pronunciation and poise while reading' how he 'doesn't stutter even once'. She reads in silence. Finnick leans over and for the first time seems to notice the Greek writing. "Whoa, you understand that? What does it say?"

"Oh, death. Won't you spare me over till another year? Well, what is this that I can't see, with ice cold hands taking hold of me?" She skips over a few lines even though Pearson scowls at her and will scold her tomorrow, away from the prying eyes of their guest. "I'll open the door to heaven or hell..In death I come to take your soul. Leave your body and leave it cold. To drop the flesh off the frame... Oh, death. Won't you spare me over till another year?" She feels a strange sensation build up in her stomach, perhaps she shouldn't have read the art out loud with the detailed implications it's holding. This has never bothered her before.

"Oh isn't it lovely? Although the Princess most certainly didn't do it justice by jumping over nearly half the piece.." It seems Ms. Pearson has no such problems with the work being presented to the face of a victor.

Finnick proves to be a good participant however, "It's extremely lovely, I almost feel like the dying man." all smiles.

"I feel like I may be death." It's whispered but Finnick's eyes snap on her with avid attention. He may have given himself whiplash.

"PRINCESS! Do you see what I have to deal with? All her over exaggerating comments in poor taste. You're old enough now to know better Princess Snow, that was completely unappropriated. I hope you reflect on your actions through the night." She must notice how late they've gone past time because she gathers all the materials, pecks Finnick's mouth and scurries to the door.

"Let them eat cake!" Ms. Pearson stops to glare at her, while she chuckles to herself. Unlike Finnick, who looking between them with drawn eyebrows, Ms. Pearson knows all about the beheaded queen Marie Antoinette. Dead World history is nearly dead itself by this point, few from the capitol learn such things. No one from the districts get this education.

Ramon will be here in an hour. Katniss cancels all her remaining lessons. Orders fruit and chocolate to peck at while they wait. Finnick inhales the tray so she orders more with scones and orange cake. He whispers over her shoulder for waffles. She makes tea, he asks for a smoothie. She briefly wanders if he might actually be a needy pet. He eats everything but the cake. "Don't like cake?"

"I hate Orange." He's not smiling. Strange, she's seen him drink screwdrivers with Johanna.

Ramon smiles warmly but still looks sad when he sees Finnick. She kisses his cheek.

They discuss the origins of mutts and how they were brought about by mixing two technique from the dark days, chimeras, and cloning.

Pelenos interrupts them, pulling her away with gifts. The clips he bring attach to her mask. They're made from alexandrite gems and change from emerald green in the day, which happens to be her birthstone, to blood red at night.

They chat and she invites him to an exclusives only gathering she's hosting in the throne room next week. She didn't actually have anything planned yet, but with her grandfather away and the throne room vacant she figured she'd entice a few high name celebrities and officials, as well as a few victors, with the prospect of entering the exclusive room. She'll have a small action, that way she'd be able to justify her action if her grandfather said anything. "I'm going to be selling one of my beautiful calligraphy pens during the auction, i'd love for you to attend."

-Finnick-

He didn't like watching the princess leave with that repulsive man who had tried to vandalize her when she'd been under the influence. He didn't think the old man had either.

"Do you know what's so special about people eating cake?" He sounds like a moron. He sounds like uneducated district slum.

"Cake?"

"It's nothing, I just heard the princess telling someone about eating cake and it seemed to really upset them.." This man isn't a capitol woman he can impress.

"Let them eat cake?" He sighs as he says it, but that's what she'd said exactly. How'd he know? He looks over his shoulder at the door and back again. Finnick had asked him to change sides when he'd first entered, had wanted to see the door. Sighs. "That is most certainly something the princess would do, she has a rather dark sense of humor."

"Queen Marie Antoinette. She's rather famous for that line. She was royalty from long ago in the dark days. She was extremely beautiful and she wore beautiful dressss, drank expensive wine, and even had a town built for her daily play time. Sound familiar?" Finnick thinks about Princess Snow, beautiful, beautiful clothes, nice food, and she builds game arenas every year. Yeah it sounded extremely familiar. "She played in her village while real villagers starved to death. She was bathing and eating sweets when she was informed that her peasants had no bread to eat. She laughed and said 'let them eat cake'. She was so out of touch with society that she hadn't even been aware that food in general was a luxury while she dined on sugar."

"Did she send them food? Did they buy cake?" He didn't know how the princess managed to keep up with all this. These innuendos. He definitely wasn't impressing this man the way she'd been. Finnick had felt pretty proud of himself in the last lesson, had wanted to impress her with his poetry, until he'd found out the princess knew over ten languages. Talk about bringing a man down.

"Could you have eaten cake before becoming a victor?" Most citizens thought he had, even with Mags half raising him, he was lucky to have eaten more than once a day. "No. Eventually the citizens revolted, they imprisoned the royal family and beheaded Marie Antoinette publicly." Oh. It bothered him that his princess implied the similarities.

"You know, you're not what i'd wanted for her but i'm glad the princess has someone by her side closer to her age all the same. Of course you're still much older, nine years? Ten? Anyway, you're not a politician and you're not an avox or a trainer who's with her under orders by the president so i'm happy. She's always been rather cold, standoffish if you would. I blame her grandfather, you know, never allowing her to have friends, then he'd taken her to the control rooms as a child and forced her to choose a victor.. where am I going with this? Oh, the way you look at her! You look at her far too much. Your face shows everything you're thinking, the princess has never been around boys and she won't notice but if the president sees the way you look at her you may bring about some conflict. Relax, Princess Katniss is not Queen Marie."

Finnick didn't understand what the man meant 'the way he looks at her'. He had never heard anyone address the princess with her first name, he didn't know if he actually had known the princesses first name. The princess, Princess Snow, my princess, little Princess. When was the last time she'd heard her own name spoken? She was only fourteen, while he was twenty three, but Cinna had made it sound like she'd been left in charge of the nation for ages. Her world was so cold, he wanted to be back by his beaches watching his waves. Talking to him had felt invasive, invasive into the princesses life and into his.

When the princess returns she kisses Pelenos in parting, Finnick understands what the old man meant.

No one eats the orange cakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors.  
> I took some liberties with the history, I know.


	18. Six Minutes, Six Seconds, Six Moments

She's never spent so much time with any one victor before, actually forgot that he'd been with her a few times throughout the day. He didn't speak unless spoken to, he was always three steps behind her, and even when she was focusing she couldn't hear his steps or breathing. It was unnerving how he always managed to stop in perfect time with her and how whenever she'd look back, to make sure he was still there and hadn't gone wandering, he'd greet her with a smile that didn't look at all like the fake ones she was more used to.

She's never seen this quiet and submissive side of him before. Sure he was always reserved with her at gatherings and parties, but so were all the other victors. This hadn't been the version of him she'd seen interacting with Annie and Mags over the years.

"I have training with my district one quests, Gold and Diamond, I believe you've met them before. Then, to finish the day, i'll be taking over a dinner meeting with the families budgeting accountant. You're are welcome to leave anytime you'd like, I can always have one of our cars brought around to escort you back to The Advantage."

"I'll come along.. As long as you'll have me I mean.."

Gold and Diamond are surpassingly put off by Finnick's presence, Katniss thought they'd have been more excited after all the time they've been spending together.

Diamond informs them they're going to be practicing some rope and knot skills for the day, explaining why they'd both been so unnerved, aside from the obvious confusion of why he'd been with her in the first place, but they both knew better than to question her in-front of others.

Finnick looks delighted, Gold and Diamond look equally nervous. One and two are both career district so they don't focus too much on survival skills that don't include weapons. Katniss was already surprised they'd been able to show her how to start a fire and cook meet that wouldn't make her ill. She doubts either of them have ever tied a knot in their lives and probably had plans to just 'wing it' before being confronted with teaching the master.

Finnick takes over the lesson in less than five minutes and after half an hour Diamond and Gold leave with their respective ropes because 'he's obviously got it covered'. At one point Finnick wraps his arms around her in an attempt to guid her hands, it results in her freezing up and him magically being five feet from her in less than a moment. She doesn't address the awkwardness, hadn't addressed it all day. "By all means, Mr. Odair."

His hands are so warm they almost make hers sweat, but he helps her finish a knot in about 45 seconds. It's not the knot she'd been practicing and it's shaped like a braided oval. He calls it an 'ocean plait' knot, he must be missing district four.

He takes the rope and starts pulling it apart when she asks if he can make any other designs.

He shows her a heart. "It doesn't do much but you can tie these ends around your neck and make a necklace." She can see the debate his eyes makes before he's moving around to tie her a piece of jewelry. "The Celtic knots, Oh this is a Celtic knot by the way.. The Celtic knots are said to mean eternity because they only have one thread that is supposed to be never ending." When he finishes he lays her hair back. He seems to remember the heart, he rushes to clarify "Eternity can mean anything of course! It doesn't have to mean love, it could be loyalty or friendship. It could even be happiness."

She keep the necklace on, tonight she'll add it to her wall of treasures.

Finnick teaches her half a dozen more.

Finnick pulls his chair to the head of the table next to her. He orders two servings of honey salmon and greens for supper, she's pleasantly surprised, she'd half expected him to request ice cream and pie. When the avox returns with his plates she requests whiskey for her adviser and spiced brandy for herself, knows from experience neither will take food for the night. Finnick gives her an upset look.

Mr. Sadleman arrives just at eight sharp. Sits a few chairs down from her and sips his whiskey. "I see you've brought along one of your pets tonight, Princess Snow." Finnick's fork stops in mid-air, he looks mortified. None of the victors have even heard the term they've been deemed by high ranking capitol citizens. She orders Finnick a milkshake and tells the avox to bring Mr. Sadleman some orange slices to compliment his Whiskey. Finnick calms down considerably and seems to breath a little easier.

She spends the night planning a rough outline for her games.

She's the first to arrive at the auction. Cinna hadn't been invited due to status, usually she would have ignored such a thing but he wouldn't have wanted to be here any more than she would and given her plans for the night she couldn't afford his hovering glances.

The victors also arrive before the set time. She's surprised to see even Haymitch and Johanna in attendance, though the invite had been sent to just under fifteen victors they both had a way of getting out of 'requested' invitations. She'd chosen all the most influent victors as well as a few of her favorites, Mags and Annie hadn't been called upon for other reasons. Ruve had stayed in district four along with them, not having received his own invite either. He'd most likely be painting with his grandmother tonight.

Thirteen victors, twenty bidders, seven avox's, two mutts, and one princess. The throne had already been roped off but was still proving to be a main attraction. Citizens line walls taking photos with statues, paintings, and unhappy victors. Mr. Ridmen smiles knowingly from the other side of the room.

Pelenos compliments her alexandrite clips she'd worn on her mask and places a matching bracelet on her wrist. She shows him the ruby pen she'd placed on the boards, he promises to own it by the end of the night.

Haymitch has taken one of the avox's for his personal use and has the her running back and forth with drinks. Dolly stands just inside the door, everyone knows better than to call for her.

Katniss hopes Gale returns soon, Dolly has been overworked since his departure and she's been lonely during training and lessons without him.

She starts the bidding just after one, Mr. Ridmen gets her pen. She hears Johanna make a smart comment about the princesses trinkets being 'worth there wait in gold', she obviously doesn't know the current trade for gold because Mr. Ridmen had paid nearly twenty times that.

Doesn't have to be with them to know that her wallflowers are making snide comments whenever a 'pretty vase' or a 'darling brooch' finds a place on the boards.

An hour is spends introducing pieces and their donors, the cash coming in is spectacular. She decided she needed to have her own funds outside the royal account long ago, this is a good start.

She's about to announce the last piece of the night when she finds herself stumped by what it's doing here. An old rusted axe with a chip out of the side. It's virtually worthless and shouldn't even have a place on the boards, but all the citizens in attendance had brought an item or two from their personal stashes, so it'd be an insult to not announce it.

Haymitch starts choking on his drink and knocks over a cart running out the doors. A woman comes to inform her this is the axe that dealt the finishing blow in the 50th games, the second quarter quell. Haymitch's year.

She locks eyes with Pelenos. Pleads for him to get it for her. He doesn't disappoint. She could feed a district for a year with the money he spends on that axe. Presents it to her on one knee with the axe resting on a blue velvet cushion. The crowd loves it.

She steps out to take her gift to her rooms, requests Dolly to prepare a slice of chocolate cake for Pelenos. Finnick follow her out, she doesn't mind. Johanna and Haymitch are sitting outside in the hall, Haymitch watches the weapon in her hand like she might throw it at him. Katniss has to remind herself that someone once had.

They pass through two of her rooms before they get to her bedroom, to her treasure wall. She lays her new axe underneath the crossing two from Johanna's games, she'll have to get it a proper case to display along her wall.

"Is that a human skull? Are those Johanna's game axes?" Thankfully he doesn't mention the heart necklace he'd made her. She wondered if she should feel strange about being alone with him in her rooms, but she'd been alone with him twice in his room, so she supposed it didn't really matter.

"No. These are my axes, they were gifts." Pelenos had even gotten her the rock Rahella had scraped her arm off with. She keeps it locked up in its own glass case a few feet down on the shelf. "A dear friend of mine, the one who bid on this axe, acquired them for me. I've also got Rahella's rock and the remainder of Beetee's wire from him, though he's never managed to find your trident. Pity. Oh, and the skull is from the dark days, a serial killer."

She picks up a pocket watch on the way out.

Dolly hands her a small plate with the cake, she already has the vial. When she sees Pelenos she almost changes her mind. He was a horrible man, who had tried to do horrible things to her, and still did horrible things to others she most certainly did not agree with, but still she couldn't quite hate him. She could be disgusted with him but even then, when she was near him she couldn't help but brighten up and be happy. He was her family, her family was horrible. She remembered Cashmere covered in bruises that still hadn't faded away, her promise to Gloss, to herself. "A slice of cake as thanks. I have two forks."

"That's quite alright princess. Thank you, but i'm on a diet." The poison she'd gotten had been flavored with chocolate so that none would be the wiser. Gloss and Finnick are whispering to each other, watching her, she's going to have to make do. She clicks on the watches timer.

She eats a bite of the cake, hands it off to one of the avox's and pours the vial into her mouth. When she turns back around she pulls Pelenos in for an open mouth kiss, forcing as much of the liquid inside his as possible. "Just a taste then." She winks.

They discuss her growing collection and she tells him to keep an eye out for a three pronged trident. Tells him she'd do 'anything' in order to get ahold of it. Two minutes forty-seven seconds.

The poison was slow acting but would speed up with a faster heart rate. She rubs Pelenos's neck. Three minutes ten seconds.

Calms her breathing. He promises it as a birthday gift. She pecks his lips in parting.

Four minutes two seconds.

She's passing the victors when he starts wheezing. Coughing. Chocking. She turns to watch. Citizens scream for a medic. Blood splatters into his hands. They lock eyes, he knows.

Six minutes, six seconds, six moments. He's stopped breathing.

Katniss can feel her throat closing up, brood making its way from her mouth to her chin. It had been slow acting and she had stayed calm but she was still much smaller with a much larger dose. Dolly is behind her, reaching in for the chain between her breasts that is going to save her life.

Dolly pats the blood from her mouth with a white handkerchief.

She nods her head to Gloss as she leaves. He'd been the only one to notice her little trick, the only one to know to look. She'd taken care of the man who'd helped to destroy his life, his sisters life. He nods back.

She doesn't spend anymore time with Finnick. He stays in the capitol along with the twins, she doesn't know why but none of the victors get summoned for duty so she doesn't really care.

Spends the majority of her free time planning the 74th games. She spends extra time picking each tribute this year, getting more of a blend of characters.

Before she knows it it's time for the victory tour. Time for Ruve to visit her.

Katniss doesn't plan on staying long, she figures she'll simply greet a few quests, have a drink or two, then invite Ruve for a tour of the castle. They'd spoken a handful of times over the past six months, he'd call her once a week to wish her a good night, she'd sent him a painting set, as a part of his victory skill, along with a candle and some sweets for his grandmother for his birthday.

She plans to visit him in district four before the games are set to begin, hopes here grandfather will allow it. She's never been to the districts before, any of them. She wants to get a close up view to all twelve of the remaining ones, she's already been inside district thirteen.

She sees Finnick sitting with Annie and Mags. Katniss still hadn't come to a conclusion on how to address the woman, her grandmother, so for now she'll leave it as it is.

Slyth has made himself comfortable with the twins. Cinna leaves her to go speak to the district four stylist.

Eye contact with Ruve, they walk to meet each other. He's the only victor she'll greet in typical capitol fashion. She doesn't make it.

"Katniss!" There's only one person she knows with the audacity to refer to her by first name. Pestilent's voice. she doesn't manage to turn around fully before he's there, striking her across the face with a metal rod.

Th room erupts into chaos, citizens scatter away, destroyer and the district two trainers stand between them and the victors, Slyth facing them off. Enobaria tackles Ryan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors


	19. Red And Black Blindfolds

She's on her back, arm raised to shield against the pipe. Feels her arm break. Feels a rib crack when he swings back and kicks her. The pipe comes back down, she takes it, transfers the momentum away, and throws the metal rod off to the side.

His hands go for her throat, she gets her foot between them and kicks off his chest. Grabs for the closest object and slings it in his direction, it misses but he stumbles away all the same, she'll have to thank Brutus later.

When she rolls over to reach for his weapon a foot crushes her hand into the ground. Richard. Slyth tackles him, the other mutt bitting him the whole way. Pestilent digs a knife into her forearm, unlike with Mr. Ridmen she feels every bit of it. He'd come prepared.

She's on her feet. He's charging after her. Hands weave into her hair and her head swings into a wall. If she hadn't already had a concussion she will now. He breaths in her ear. "You stupid bitch, I know you fucking killed Pelenos."

The guests don't come closer, she doesn't know if she's looking at the citizens or the victors. Slyth screeches in fury.

He's got her back on the ground when she gets ahold of a chair leg and breaks it against his head. He better have a concussion too. She gets the remaining leg around the back of his neck and pulls him into her knee twice. It doesn't feel like they're even.

She goes for Slyth, he's holding out against both Richard and Destroyer at this point.

Gunshot.

In front of her, arms thrown to the sides, shielding. Two more shots. Dolly takes the bullets to the chest. Dolly. Her avox. The woman who nearly raised her. The woman she considers to be like a mother, who's laying on the ground in a puddle of her own blood.

She doesn't feel any pain. She doesn't feel anything. She doesn't hear the citizens screaming, or the victors calling for her. Doesn't know when she'd gotten ahold of him and ended up with her hands wrapped around his neck or how she'd left the marks covering his face.

"Enough." She does hear her grandfather, she just ignores him. Tries to ignore him. Pestilent stands at attention like a good boy, somehow finagling his way away from her. "Katniss!"

President Snow stands on the balcony looking down at them, still she manages to match his glare. Pestilent is down on one knee. Her grandfather orders the mutts down. Interesting. Destroyer lays next to his master, Slyth paces the floor looking just as angry as she feels. His eyes narrow, he knows she's altered her mutts. Gloss pulls his tail until he growls over to him.

"Guards, see to the avox. Both of you to my study. Now."

"Yes, president."

They both agree to not make anymore public scenes. Pestilent is dismissed first.

"Do I need to remind you that we are in a state of crisis? That currently half of the districts are rioting in protest of the games, and that at any moment we could be at war. What happens when the people hear of you rolling around on the floor in the middle of the victory tour? What will you say? I expect more from you Katniss."

She's left with a lot on her mind, thinking about all the decisions they'd come to.

The rest of her night passes quickly. She spends nearly two hours in the medical room with the healers probing and looking her over, breaking her arm into place and then rebreaking it into place after they remove the knife. She leaves with a wrap.

Dolly doesn't wake up, the healers will keep her updated.

She visits Plutarch, they summons all the victors to the capitol. They're all set to arrive before the victory tour ends in two days.

Cinna sets to making a dress on crunched time She doesn't tell him what its purpose is, just to make it grand.

Lessons with Brutus and Enobaria are cancelled for the next week, in part due to her injuries, in part due to Enobaria being in hot water after being the only victor to have gotten involved in the conflict. She'd manage to get her hands on both district two trainers, who would be spending considerably more time with the medics.

She spends the night transferring all of her game plans and handing off the key to her hallway room.

In the morning she invites herself to the victors tower to eat with Ruve and district four. Annie plays with her hair even after Mags and Finnick attempt to stop her. "What are you drinking? Is it juice? Can I have some?"

"Of course you can have some juice, what would you like? Avox." Doesn't tell her it's not juice. The rest know.

Pestilent waits for her in the ball room, mutt and avox in tow. "He was supposed to be mine you know." Not what she'd been expecting him to say, but she'll humor him.

"Pelenos? Yours?"

"Gale. I heard about him killing those peace keepers in district twelve. The president sent for him to be brought to me, but then you passed by and demanded to keep him for yourself and well.. You know how the story ends. So, where is he? Where have you been hiding him these past few months?"

She doesn't like the thought of her cousin owning Gale, couldn't imagine a life without him next to her. Cinna had done well getting him out of the capitol if even the royal family couldn't get ahold of the information. "What do you care? You seem to have done well enough for yourself with avox's." His avox doesn't look particularly interesting, but Pestilent was too vain to allow a tag along, he must have some value.

"Goodness little cousin, do you really not know anything happening around this place?" Never faltering smile. "Him? He was given to me the day you were born. I was there you know, though that's a story for another time. I promise to tell you one day. Anyway. The president gave you the girl and I got the boy. It was all very dramatic, though also derogatory if you truly think about it.. They're twins.. well were, I guess it depends on the survival of yours, hmm? I'm getting off topic, I guess what i'm trying to say is that, just like our twin avox's you and I didn't truly live until the moment we were together. Maybe we'll die together too."

He's crazy. Annie's mad and Pestilent is truly crazy. Dolly had never mentioned having a twin, a dead baby brother and parents but never a twin. "You're crazy."

"Yes, well, all of that is a story for another time. I believe one day you'll come to see our destiny the same way I do."

She doubts she ever will, but she can't let him leave with Dolly's brother. Not now.

"How about we make a bet? If I win you'll give me your avox, If you win.. Gale's yours." She's playing with fire, fire she doesn't have.

She's watching Destroyer. He's watching her.

"A fight to the death with our mutts? Alright."

"No. A fight to the death between your mutt and me. If I kill him, I win. If he can bite anywhere on the left side of my body, you win. And I get a knife."

Pestilent had never designed a second mutt like she had with Rave. Pestilent hadn't spent the majority of his life involved with the games. She'd made a thousand mutts in her time, new designs, new styles, new abilities. Found that they all shared two common traits, traits that she'd removed from both Slyth and Rave. All followed her grandfathers orders, and none were ever allowed to attack a member of royalty. He wouldn't know that of course.

"Hmm. Alright, I like it. You don't get to complain when you lose though."

He didn't complain when she plunged the knife into Destroyers neck. He yelled.

She left the knife, slowing the blood flow. As long as he hurried Destroyer would live.

Unlike Dolly her new avox doesn't know sign language, doesn't even know how to read and write. She'll have to teach him.

She calls him Doe. She gives him a red lace tie for his eyes that matches his sisters. Doe is nothing like Dolly. He stands at attention across the room for nearly four hours that night, even after she'd told him twice that he was welcome to Dolly and Gales room and that she'd let him know if she needed him, as she planed her upcoming interviews. When he brings her spiced milk he uses syrup in place of honey and heats it until it boils. She tries to correct it but he just recoil away from her spilling it down himself and all over her floor. He's pissing her off.

She orders him to sit when he goes for the door. "Stay there! I'll be back in a minute."

She gets two towels for the hard wood and an ice pack for him, when she passes back through she grabs one of Gales old shirts. It smells like hardy wood. She misses him.

"I'm going to find another avox tomorrow." She crouches to unbutton his top. He looks so upset by her comment about another avox that she backtracks. He can't think she'd spend all that work just to replace him the next day, surely? "I'm used to having two, and with Gale away and Dolly in the hospital i'll need a second to accompany you. You also need to settle... Are these briuses? Have you been beaten?" His chest is covered in them. There is nearly as much discolored skin as there is covered in scars. No wonder he's so on edge.

She tosses Gales shirt, it was too big anyway, and removes his clothes until he's looking uncomfortable in nothing but undergarments. Lays him in her bed while she cleans over cuts, gashes, and bite marks. Makes him spices milk along with her own. Rave cuddles next to him. "From now on use honey."

..

The last of the victors arrive today.

..

Katniss spends an hour walking through lines of avox's before one catches her eye. She picks out the boy. He's a few years older than hers, around Gale's age. His eyes are blue and he has brown hair. He's so familiar looking. He looks like Ruve. The blindfold she gives him is black.

She shows him around her rooms and vaguely around the castle. "This is Doe, you'll be taking care of him until he's recovered. After the two of you are up and about i'll inform you of your daily duties. Now that you belong to me your life will be drastically different, I expect that everything you hear and see will be completely confidential. Now do you know how to read and write?" He shakes his head, she's not surprised.

Most avox's are nothing short of slaves, they receive no education what-so-ever. Gale learned from attending lessons alongside her. She'd been under the impression Dolly had been taught before she was taken from her district, but Doe had proven that had been wrong. She'll have to see they are taught together. It was something they would only ever use with her but she'd see it done all the same.

She declares his name Gile until he is capable of telling her his own.

When she looks at them together, red headed Doe with his eyes tied red, Gile with his Dark brown hair and blue eyes, the closest you can get to black and grey in the capitol, she sees them. Red and black blindfolds. She sees Dolly and Gale looking back at her, her family. She's found the best replacements the capitol had to offer. She's lonely.

Gile makes her spiced milk just like he did.

Katniss stops by room 102 around lunch the day of the interview. When Cashmere opens the door she sends Slyth through despite his protests. The last of her family gone from her. He knows something is wrong.

"Princess Snow?" Gloss had wandered over at the sight of Slyth, loungier than she'd ever seen him. Them. She's glad that from everything that's happened, she's made it so they can feel safe in their own beds at night.

"I've come to see if Slyth could stay in your care. He is a guard mutt, so he'll be by your side day and night. He will need to eat a pound of meet twice day."

His sister answers for him when his eyebrows scrunch up. "Of course, Princess Snow. How long will you be leaving him?"

"I'm not sure. A while at least, perhaps indefinitely." She leaves before they can question it. She leaves before she can cry. Alone.

She's the last to arrive to her interview.

They had to improvise with the set, but somehow had managed to get fifty six victors on stage. It's rare that all victors are brought to the capitol in unison. They've never all been apart of a single camera setting.

Caesar has dark navy hair, pulled back in his normal fashion. Everything will go fine, after all she'd learned all of her acting from him. They were the best.

Haymitch catches her eye more than once, every time he seems to be trying to convey to her the question 'what have you done?'. She doesn't want to make eyes with him once he knows.

She remembers what it's all for, defying her grandfather, killing her friend, fighting her cousin. Everything she does is for them. For her victors.

-Flashback-

"I know a way to stop the rioting." She'd been considering it for some time now, whether or not she should present it as a viable option to her grandfather. It's the reason she hadn't been progressing the next arena, in the case that it would all have to be changed or taken apart.

"I'm listening." He's sat down at his desk and given her his undivided attention. He's taking her seriously. She feels ashamed of her behavior, she's the princess, she should represent herself and her future throne more professionally.

"I have conditions."

"Id' be disappointed if you didn't."

"All the victors will belong solely to me, no one will be allowed a say in matters regarding any of them." She continues when he nods his head in recognition. "We'll have to make an announcement."

They spend four and a half hours going over every detail, before he finally settles with her.

"And Katniss. Now that the victors belong to you, I expect no more deaths in the throne room."

-Present-

Caesar has replaced the typical tribute chair with a black replica of the royal throne.

Her dress wraps around her neck, lays to the floor in a chic cut that falls strait down from her hips, all silk. Her back is bare and feathers cover her chest and trail to the floor starting at her tail bone. No shoes. All black.

Her hair is up in wild pig-tails that she once wore commonly as a child, even mounted up it still falls to her thighs, a gold brooch secured to one side. A mockingjay catching an arrow in its mouth, she has no idea where Cinna had found it. It reminded her of the painting he had made for her one drunken night.

"Hello! Hello! He-el-lo! People, people, people. Look what we have here.. Princess Snow.. And.. She asked me for the interview this time! Can you believe it? Can you believe it? Can you? Can you? Can you? You can? I can't." He settles the crowd with some rushed waves of his hands. "So. Princess Katniss, can I call you Princess Katniss? Princess Katniss, I heard you've brought everyone here to discuss something special with this years games, is that true?"

"It is, but first I want to show everyone my beautiful dress. You all know Cinna's work. Lovely isn't it?"

"Too lovely! Cinna. You've outdone yourself once again. But princess, you can't keep us all in suspense like this, it's cruel. Getting game information from you it like sewing sheer fabrics when you really need to be soldering them.. Now here you are? GIVING it away? I'm suspicious." He's leaning in and whispering not so whispering to the crowd.

"Well Caesar, today i've come to discuss the changes we're making this year to the games." He, like everyone else, had been left in the dark. Not acting when his eyes widen and his mouth moves without sound. She imagines this is the face the rest of the world is making right now. Glad the victors are behind her, she doesn't want to see their reactions right now. Ever. She doesn't know how she'd console them if they were upset, worse, she doesn't know how she'd react if they were thrilled.

"Alright everyone. I know this isn't a quell year, we still have one year to go for that, but for the 74th Hunger Games we're going to be doing things a little differently. For one year, and one year only, we will be allowing up to two tributes to win the games. Two victors." Caesars isn't smiling.

It takes nearly five minutes for the crowd to quite down.

"Now, let me explain how this is all going to work. This year the games are going to be held earlier than ever before, tributes will be announced a month ahead of usual. Now no need to be confused if you're in the districts, if you qualified last year as an eighteen year old you will not qualify again this year as an eighteen year old. Back to the tributes. All tributes will start out as a bonded pair, remember the term bonded pair it's very important. They will start out as a bonded pair with their district partner." Addresses the camera, the future tributes. "You cannot leave your bonded pair. If your district partner dies you will be allowed to form a new bonded pair with a tribute of the opposite sex from another district. New bonded pairs will be sealed with a kiss."

She takes a moment to gaze around the building. Can hear Caesars heart.

"If two tributes from opposite districts join together in a bonded pair their mentors will also join together to gather sponsors and increase their resources and funds."

Here comes the excitement.

"In addition, to make this years games more memorable than ever before, we will be announcing a 25th tribute."

Caesar looks like he's going to pass out. She probably should have clarified that this had all been passed by her grandfather and she wasn't acting like a loose cannon on his platform. Rests her hand on his knee and nods to calm him in appeasment.

Stands after seventeen minutes to silence the crowd.

"Now, listen closely because the rules of the 25th tribute are different. The 25th tribute will not start off in a bonded pair. The 25th tribute will not start out with a mentor. The 25th tribute will not be allowed sponsors or resources until they have successfully joined another tribute to form a bonded pair. If the partner of the 25th tribute dies they will once again be left without a mentor or resources. Unlike the rest of the tribute who must be in a bonded pair with a member of the opposite sex, the 25th tribute can bond with either sex."

The citizens bounce in their seats. She bets the victors do the same, for a whole nother reason.

"Finally. If any single tribute or bonded pair manages to kill the 25th tribute they will automatically be declared victor and the rest of the tributes will be hunted down by mutt."

"Princess, Princess. Princess. SHHH, PEOPLE. Let me ask our questions... Princess Katniss... Panem wants to know, no, the world wants to know. How will the 25th tribute be decided?"

"Well Caesar, what can I say? I'm a people pleaser, so let me go ahead and tell everyone. The 25th tribute has already been decided."

She stands, moves to the center of the stage, and spins. Fire. It eats away the silk. Her hair twirls in two large circles around her. She hears gasps and screams. When she stops she's nearly bare. Feathers cover her flat breasts and bottom, leaving her back, stomach, and legs bare. Her hands lower and click into small metal clips that lift the back feathered part of her once dress up, two large wings follow. Her hair settles back down to her thighs and smoke moves around her body.

"I'm the 25th tribute."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors


	20. Who's The Best At Games?

Caesar hadn't been able to ask anymore questions, after she'd put on her grand finale, she didn't think he really wanted to. She didn't really want to answer any questions he might have asked.

The crowd had lost it with her revelation of being the 25th tribute. Most of them in tears, crying in fear for their princess, though a few just seemed to have dazed looks.

She imagines the reaction of the districts after their loss of fuel, two would undoubtfully throw a parade in her name. She'd caught Cinna's eye in the crowd, he looked like he was in pain, Caesar's face mirrors.

She didn't glance back at the victors.

Didn't stay to see how long the screams continued

Didn't make it very far either.

Off the stage, through the back waiting room, and around a bend in the hallway leading to the outside world is how far she'd got before hands were on her grabbing from behind, pushing her not so gently against the wall.

"What the hell is the matter with you, Huh? What are you trying to prove sweetheart? That you're just as big and bad and scary as the rest of the people on that stage? 'Cause newsflash, you're not! Is this a game to you? Do you think this is funny? You could die, and then what would all this be for? What is it with you anyway, what are you trying to prove exactly?"

Haymitch was an impressive man, once upon a time she'd wanted to earn his approval, to a degree she still yearned for it. She's learned about him when she was seven, had watched his games for the first time. To this day the 50th games are still her favorite, and it has nothing to do with the quarter quell or having double the amount of tributes but all to do with the intelligence of the man restraining her.

She really hadn't wanted to catch his eye. Hadn't wanted to see the disappointment in them, in her.

He was smart, probably even smarter than she was, part of the appeal. From the moment she saw him use the games forcefield as his own personal weapon, dealing the final blow, she'd wanted to meet him, wanted his companionship. It was a brilliant ending, he'd dealt a death blow to the district one tribute, the games, and her grandfather all without even lifting a finger. He'd also insured the death of all his loved ones.

He was an impressive man, she wanted to impress him. It's why she'd approached him in the first place. Wants and needs are fickle things, she can want all she'd like but she didn't need anything from him.

"This way no one in the districts can say that the games are uncivilized, can they? Not if the royal princess were to partake. I do so love playing games, and you know who's the best at games? Children. And it's shaping up that i'll be the youngest of all." The best. It was a bluff, would the games be tipped in her favor, probably? At the end of the day given all things considered her advantage, if any, would be slight. He's a smart man, he knows as well as she does.

Haymitch's hatred of the games is unrivaled, and she'd not only volunteered herself, she'd praised the whole endeavor.

Katniss, like all citizens, truly enjoys the Hunger Games.

She leaves him standing alone in the hall.

She doesn't run across any of the other victors from then on. She doesn't run across anyone aside from her trainers and sworn avox's from then on.

Brutus and Enobaria are made permanent residence in the capitol. All her lessons are put on hold.

She receives a new residence from her grandfather, hidden deep underground, along with funds and recourses for 'furthering all skillsets'. She shares her new temporary home with her district one trainers and her district two victors.

The first two weeks are hard, each duo trying to take charge of the training while the other undermines their authority. Brutus and Enobaria hadn't been involved in her former incident and had yet to warm up with her trainers, who've informed them that 'they've been training the princess since she was eight and surely knew what was best for her'. The response they'd been met with was something along the lines of 'How do you plan to train the princess for the games when you weren't good enough to even qualify for them?', give or take a few insults.

Mornings are spent fighting, hand to hand, weapon to weapon. Days are spent training, aim and force. Evenings are spent learning, plants and self administered first aid.

Diamond, Gold, and Enobaria want her to join the career pack, Brutus grunts nearby. It's the one thing they can agree on.

Doe and Gile visit her though out the days, bringing food and water, Rave follows with them. Brutus makes them take half the cuisine back, declaring it 'unacceptable training meals' along with multiple instructions to bring 'meats'.

The six of them are set to be her whole world for the next five months leading up to the 74th games.

She spends each night with her avox's, teaching them both finger and written alphabets. They learn small words, and they learn them slowly. She gives them both sign names to use with each other.

As they practice she checks her victors, first Annie because she's been going though quite a bit of trouble since the announcement and Ruve has had his hands full trying to keep her settled through the nights. Mags pays her no mind, none of them in fact. Johanna has been drinking more than she remembered, not as much as Haymitch but enough that she keeps an eye on her. Haymitch hasn't changed a bit despite their previous encounters. Finnick looks more upset with each passing night, a month ago she would have went to settle him. A month ago she wasn't facing the prospect of death, self administered but who's really keeping track.

The twins nearly kill her, the way they treat Slyth. Luring him into bed each night, and tugging his ears and tail when he won't eat. He's grumpy and feisty being locked up away from her for so long. When she's alone Cashmere addresses him by Princess, like she's talking strait to her. It's gentle.

Dolly sleeps.

The drills get harder each week. Gold suggests a trip to the outside, she hadn't had much interest in going back since the disaster that had fallen with the last visit. She agrees. Brutus and Enobaria can hardly hide their excitement once they are informed what outside they're talking about, and that it's not the city. It's the closest the two pairs have managed to get. She sends for Katniss root, just incase.

When they return the hostility fades. It doesn't leave, but Brutus takes the knife out from under his pillow so she'll call it progress.

They decide to venture out for a week each month.

Brutus chases her. 55LBS. 46minutes.

Doe and Gile start leaving food with Diamond in the mornings, stop visiting her each night. It's Enobaria's doing, she doesn't mind.

Months pass. Days blur together, with no windows and no clocks. She sleeps when she's tired, fights when she's awake. Gold and Diamond leave one day, no one mentions it. Brutus and Baria stop talking, so she listens. Listens to their steps, their breathing, determines when they will strike, and when they're off guard. They even attack while she sleeps.

She's grumpy and feisty being locked up away from Slyth for so long.

It must be nearing time for the reaping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games  
> Please let me know if you see any errors  
> This chapter is much shorter but everything I have planned for this part of the story I'm planning to do as flashbacks and I didn't want to put the Pre-Game preparation in this chapter.  
> It's been a bit since I posted but I think I finally have some idea of where i'm going next! Stay tuned.


	21. Cliff Hanger

Half of her planned tributes ended up being reaped, one from each of the districts. 

Heavensbee was being harder on her than she imagined. Bonded pairs would come as a set, a set that she'd designed, replacing one would leave her with an undisclosed dynamic. Just enough of an alteration to leave her at a disadvantage. She'd be up against tributes she'd hand selected fighting alongside tributes she knows nothing about.

The districts had no indications to her involvement in the selection process for tributes, or that one even existed. No one outside the game planners and the royal family did. He'd done this specifically to spite her. Had Heavensbee left all her planned tributes, she would have solid footing in the games regarding connections and bonds. Had he reselected all the tributes himself or made the reaping truly random again she'd be on level ground with them. Leaving just half ruins her advantage of knowledge and sets her back with the notion that she will still have to fight others she put there. This was an attack outside the arena. This was personal.

She trains alone until Brutus and Enobaria return.

She watches as the trains come in.

Cinna comes for her. He's been made the official capitol designer for the year, leaving a horribly unqualified girl in charge of district twelve. Together they discuss ways they will expand her brand.

Together they scrub the filth and grime from her skin, remove the hair from her body, trim the dead from her hair. In another room, in another building, in the same city Peeta is enhanced along with her.

He brings them chicken with chunks of oranges, cooked in a creamy sauce and laid on a bed of fluffy grain to eat, "They will find you despicable." finish with honey pudding.

They spend the night planning strategies. The game is just as much showmanship as it is abilities, it doesn't matter how well you hold a sword when the arena runs dry and you didn't catch the eye of the citizen willing to send you water. Getting money from the citizens was never going to have been a problem for her, but she'll put on a show anyway. A show for her fellow tributes. A show for the districts. Right now she's playing the games just as much as everyone else.

The opening ceremony is upon them before she knows it. Everything feels like it's moving too fast. She should still be training, still be planning yet she's looking through a glass a million miles away where everything is upon her before she can blink but the moment she tries to move it's through a thick fog.

Her chariot is smaller than the rest, still two draft horses are saddled to pull it along. Katniss tells the announcer to take her from the top of the list to the bottom, she always arrives last.

Her horses and chariot are black, a contrast to the the districts who all have matching white.

"Cinna, we need to make some changes."

"There is no time for making changes, the parade is going to be starting in less than an hour."

"We'll make time. How much can this horse handle?"

Katniss calls him Shaft. If he'd had a name prior no one corrects her. Smoke machines are added to his hooves and legs, the smoke will conceal them along the way. He's drenched in a thick liquid that's already been run through her hair. They're sure to make a show.

Marvel and Glimmer ride out first, white gowns blowing in the wind. They do a lap before being joined by district two. Cato and Clove, somewhere not far away Brutus and Enobaria will be watching their tributes on the screens, Gold armor adorned with winged helmets and swords crossed over their backs.

Katniss watches them as they make their lap, watches as district three joins them. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Marvel, Glimmer, Cato, Clove. She will fight alongside them, eat alongside them, sleep alongside them. One of them will accompany her back to humanity when the games finish. All volunteers, She knows nothing of any of them.

District twelve looks stupid. Lumpy paper turning them into spheres resembling chunks of coal. The silly girl who had volunteered for Prim, her original choice. The silly boy trying to comfort her by holding her hand. She almost feels bad for leaving them without Cinna. The crowd loves it. 

District seven always looks stupid, dressed as trees.

The chariots all come to a halt. Two rows askew in-front of the presidential balcony, high class citizens and politicians sit nearby her grandfather. 

Cinna helps her climb up her horses back.

Armor and chariots have been replaced with liquid and fire. She rides bareback, grasping at Shafts neck and mane. He take's it like a champ.

Her body has been covered in fine coal, a light grey covering her skin whole, creeping up the side of her face. Its darker on her collar bones, darker along the ridges of her spine, darker under her small breasts. Even with nothing Cinna has made something.

Her pigtails catch with the wind. Shaft runs harder, they enter the arena before the announcer can mouth her name. Full speed. They burst into flame, both bodies bare and burning, leaving nothing but smoke in their wake.

The audience throw blood roses for her, she catches one and weaves it into his mane. It's too much noise after all her time spent in silence.

She takes a lap, and then another. On the third she sees Haymitch in the crowd inhaling the scent from a rose. 

Shaft takes her to the center of the tributes, rears up in front of her grandfather. Even from a distance she can tell he's pleased as he gazes down on her. She stands, tall and proud and bare on shafts back for the whole world to see. Flames eating her alive but leaving nothing to the imagination.

The screen splits between hers and her grandfathers face as he makes his standard speech, pausing when the crowd become unruly. She rides before he can finish, not waiting for the others to be dismissed. 

A group of victors are gathered together, in wait for their respective tributes. She briefly wonders if the twins have allowed district one to interact with Slyth but she tosses out the impression with the turbulence it causes her to feel.

Cinna is all who waits for her. Flames extinguished, he promises Shaft will be taken care of and pardoned from any further parade activities in the years to come. 

She doesn't hear Haymitch's uncomfortable mumbling about how truly still a child she is.

Days pass. She trains away from the rest of the tributes. Studies their techniques from a monitor. Takes note of who goes to what station, how well they do, and who is going to be a threat.

Marvel-spears, Glimmer-bow, Cato and Clove-everything.

Clove is impressive with her knifes, Katniss moves her to the top of her potential victors list. Her tribute from eleven, Rue, manages to impress her when she unarms Cato, leading him to start a fight with district three. She moves Cato and Glimmer to the bottom of her list. He's too quick tempered and her main weapon is a bow. Statistically in the past there has never been more than one bow and arrow at the cornucopia and she can't very well share it. Marvel moves up the list.

The girl from five is too smart, Katniss watches her play a memorization game where she matches every insect picture with its counterpart in under a minute. A hundred insects. Smart as a fox. A little like Dolly. Middle of the list.

Madge is another volunteer. Katniss takes notice of any volunteer outside one, two, and four. Volunteers have always proven to be note-worthy, she has a bracelet with human teeth reminding her of that. So far the only note-worthy thing about her is her status as the mayors daughter. District twelve has higher class citizens this year, a baker and a politicians spawn. For once Katniss can thank her luck, doesn't know if she could kill someone that looked so much like Gale. Bottom of the list.

There have been too many victors from four recently. Bottom of the list.

Eight. Textiles. both meek. Both unimpressive. It's no wonder that two out of three victors come from districts one, two, and four. Bottom of the list.

She's under no obligation to go through the typical tribute process so she adapts her own. Training less and socializing more. Every open moment of every day spent with Cinna. She hasn't spoken to her grandfather or cousin since the fight. 

Today the tributes will receive their scores, through the screen they sit in their neat pleated rows. Katniss has time to spare until she'll need to start heading in that direction. Ramon has come to visit.

She welcomes his company, she's grown accustom to her family being evolved from misfits she's pulled together over the years.

"I've been meaning to come see you, what with the fight between you and Pestilent then the business of declaring yourself a tribute. You can see how it's been hard to hunt you down." Neither know when he'd picked up her hand with his weathered fingers. Neither mind.

"You've always been strong. Strong mind, strong body, strong heart. Worthy. I had to look away you know? Seeing you riding through the parade on the back of that stallion, not because I was worried for you, goodness I believe there may never be a day that passes where I don't worry about you my little spit-fire, but because you were completely bare! HA, what put it into your mind to ride out like that without an ounce of cloth? You nearly gave this old man a heart attack." She tries to dispute him, not because he's wrong but because her emotional state is a prepubescent being scolded by her father who just caught her in a heinous act.

They end up laughing most of the awkwardness away.

They talk for a while more. She helps him stand. He walks her to the tributes tower.

"Kitty-cat," He calls to her before she can walk through the training doors "I don't believe i'll be seeing much of you until your return. See to it that you take the best care of yourself that you can and i'll make sure i'm the first thing you see when you open your eyes upon your return. If you need anything, anything at all, while you're inside.. let me know. I'll tell your grandfather, and he WILL listen to me, I still have some pull over him you see. There is still so much you don't know, I promise to tell you it all one day." She tells him to stay, 'it'll only take a moment and then we'll walk back together' she says.

Revelation after revelation recently. Ramos has earned her undisturbed trust, she won't push for more than he gives.

The room is well lit upon entering, larger than her screens portray.

She has everyones undivided attention, not because they expect much but because she is royalty. 

Bow. Arrow. Notch, twist, release. 

Clean threw the eye of the roast. 

"Send Heavensbee my regards." 

Ramos is gone.

Marvel - 9. Glimmer - 9. Cato - 10. Clove - 10. All on the good side of evaluations.

District three, five, six, eight, nine, and ten are all unimpressive. She moves the boy from seven up the list. The boy from eleven gets moved above district four and right below the careers, even his district partner Rue isn't unimpressive. District twelve is at an all time low for scores. A two and a five. A volunteer receiving a training score of two.. Madge is one for the books alright.

"And finally, from the capitol, her royal highness Princess Katniss Snow. With a score of.." He sits taller, breathes in to steady himself. Katniss can see the invisible weight placed on him, she was close with Caesar. "Twelve." So much wonder and amazement lacing his voice, when he looks to the camera he looks to her. Alone. The first twelve in game history and not a single person to congratulate her, to tell her 'good job'.

She watches the other tributes, cheered on by their mentors.

Twelve eats cake.

Today is the last day before she'll be shipped off to the games. Interviews with Caesar, after which she will return to the castle for the night. This year is full of firsts. Her grandfather is hosting a party, victors, tributes, and high paying donors all in attendance. Inside she knows this will be his way of saying goodbye. Presents, parties, and meeting behind closed doors, that's what they've always been to each other.

She'll return to her chambers after she leaves. A luxury she hadn't anticipated allotting herself originally. The comfort of her bed, her room with a balcony view out to her own private woods.

She gets a package from Mr. Ridmen, inside is the gold mockingjay pin Cinna had gotten her along with a note declaring it her 'district, not so district, token'. Cinna takes it for safe keeping. She's tempted to do as he says, however that would leave her without an eye mask and that just wouldn't do.

The tributes have already been seated. She walks to the center stage, her interview is first. She always leaves first. Caesar compliments her attire, a grey long-sleeve bodysuit wish a grey tule skirt wrapped around her waist. Her legs are bare but by this point she's past shy. Tule eye mask.

They hold hands. Intertwine fingers.

"Princess every time you have set foot on this stage you've made history. A head game maker at age twelve. Announcing yourself, a capitol citizen, a royal princess, as a tribute. Today you made history once again as the first ever tribute to receive a training score of twelve. How do you made it all look so easy?"

"What can I say Caesar, Heavensbee should be the one being celebrated. He's the one who gave me my sore. Perhaps Heavensbee just understands who he's dealing with."

"I'm sure we will all learn who we're dealing with! Now Princess Katniss, I hear you haven't been training with the other tributes? Why would that be, do you have any intention of creating an alliance?" They'd already planned out what would be discussed tonight, a guideline of sorts. Just enough to make sure she hit a few key topics. Caesar was more than capable of painting her a rose tinted light.

"No need to worry Caesar, an alliance has already been established. I look forward to working with the careers this year! As for the training, what can I say? There is still so much left to prepare for my departure that hasn't been finalized. I'm just getting everything in place for the time i'll be gone, there is nothing to worry about."

"Even still, how can we help but worry? Right folks? After all you are my darling princess, our darling princess."

She finishes up her interview quickly. Goes to the far side of the stage away from the others where a large black throne awaits her.

She listens intently to each interview, paying every tribute avid attention. District one will focus on charming the audience as always, picking up every last straggler that may end up being a paycheck to their funds. District two strong and cocky, but not unwarranted.

Three is soft spoken, smart but not the kind of intelligence that will help them eat.

Fours tactic is a mix of one and two, strong and beautiful.

The rest are a shit show, as Johanna would say, with their half planned out identities and nerves causing them to word vomit all over the audience. The exception being the boy from eleven who is stupid in his own way, never uttering a single word, leaving Caesar to talk about all the great changes we're making for this 'once in a lifetime game'.

The girl from twelve talks about summer strawberries and she can't seem to give a real answer as to what made her decide to courageously volunteer in place of such a small girl. Before finishing, she mentions how she'd like to return to her district in order to reconnect with a handsome seam boy who happens to be the one bringing her strawberries.

Her district partner talks about baking sweet bread, doesn't blame his three brothers for not taking his place. He gets rather awkward when talk of woman come up.

"Come now! Strong, handsome, young man like you? Surely there is a lovely lady waiting back home. Spill. Spill! SPILL!"

"We'll there is one girl.." Caesar ushers him on with open eyes and flailing hands. So dramatic. "I saw her once, she had on a grey dress. Fancier than anything i'd ever seen. My dad told me she was a real lady. She's the only girl i've ever thought about, but she's not back home.. she's.. here.. I guess I've only ever saw her on the television of course, and now we're going to be in the arena together. Even her dress looks just like the one from back then."

She's all over the broadcasts. Her grey skirt and bodysuit. Her pigtails. Her freaked out face. 

Someone has even managed to find a photo clip of her first ever public appearance. Five, with a grey tule dress and ribbons wrapping around her legs and pigtails. The night she'd danced with Finnick. This had never been publicized to the general public of the capitol so how come the districts seemed to know of it?

For goodness sake fix your face she tells herself. Even with the reminder she can't seem to get her mouth to close fully. Reality throws her pack to earth as a buzzer goes off, signaling the end to the interviews.

"Well Peeta, it seems you've followed in the steps of MANY men trying to catch the eye of our lovely princess." Lies, the only male who's ever shown an ounce of interest had been Gale. "BUT, as it stand folks... we are to be left with a cliff hanger."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My bad, I know. I took quite a break from writing but i've been having a crazy last two months.
> 
> I'm still very motivated to write for this story... just slower than before. I have no intentions to not finish.
> 
> I thought I was going to make it farther in this chapter but I liked a couple of spots that I almost closed on before getting to the ending point that I just couldn't pass up.
> 
> Very small spoiler for this chapter--- If you look closely in the movie and stop it on the crowd you can see Haymitch smelling a flower right after Katniss catches a rose.
> 
> Also, enter Peeta.   
> I do not own The Hunger Games. Let me know if you see any errors.

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own The Hunger Games.  
> Please let me know if you see any errors.  
> My first attempt to write stories.  
> This will be very different from the story it was inspired by even though it will start out similarly.


End file.
